![Festival of Ideas 2024]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1731425418/canfordcom/kksszcfkzpjfvxnc23me/CanfordFestivalofIdeas2024-5.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1731425418/canfordcom/kksszcfkzpjfvxnc23me/CanfordFestivalofIdeas2024-5.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1731425418/canfordcom/kksszcfkzpjfvxnc23me/CanfordFestivalofIdeas2024-5.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1731425418/canfordcom/kksszcfkzpjfvxnc23me/CanfordFestivalofIdeas2024-5.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1731425418/canfordcom/kksszcfkzpjfvxnc23me/CanfordFestivalofIdeas2024-5.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1731425418/canfordcom/kksszcfkzpjfvxnc23me/CanfordFestivalofIdeas2024-5.jpg","width":1650}])
The Festival of Ideas is a two-day event, jam-packed with thought-provoking speakers that encourage pupils to reflect and think deeply about how their own lives, and the wider world around them are affected by stability and instability, this year’s festival theme.
Jamie Ings, Head of Enrichment and the Festival Organiser, said
Whether in the natural world, human societies, or our individual lives, stability often feels like a cornerstone, something we instinctively seek. Yet, it is in the moments of instability, when systems are challenged, and the unexpected arises, that profound growth, adaptation, and innovation often emerge.
We want all members of our school community to embrace learning, to listen and to question, to share and to challenge. The festival is a diverse mix of inspirational stories and the learning that comes from them.
Journalist and author, David Brooks says “It is often in the moments of greatest instability that we discover who we truly are.”
As a result, the festival featured a remarkable range of speakers, each bringing their own expertise from very different fields. From brain science to military intelligence, from physics and guitars to unblinding your mind, from the SAS to sporting achievements, from understanding autism to the creation of numbers, from global tragedy and disaster zones to improving mental health, from recording a track from scratch to scholars sharing their learning.
“What’s the worst that can happen? Just give it a go!” Victoria Humphries, a three times Guinness World Record holding polar adventurer, mountain climber, marathon runner, businesswoman and author, said, which sums up the spirit of the festival well.
Thank you to all the amazing speakers for sharing such inspiration. We hope that the festival resonated with all of our pupils and that they take something special away that will influence their own thoughts and experiences.
For further information on all speakers and the subjects they covered, please visit:
