General Studies is taught to Years 5, 6 and 7 and to the scholars in their final year. The subject is broken down into Current Affairs (such as economics, politics and immigration), Ethics (law, war, property and animal rights) and History of Art (Classical art through to Hockney and Freud, with a good dose of architecture). In Year 6 most boys go to Berlin for a highly enjoyable long weekend that reinforces many of the topics covered. The material is deliberately extraneous to the Common Entrance syllabus but complements every subject in the timetable. If an education at Cothill House were a banquet, General Studies would be the wine - you can eat without it, but it's the luxurious extra that helps you appreciate everything else on the table. And for some people, it's the best bit.