Sixth Form Lectures

As part of our programme of extended studies all Sixth Form students are challenged by lectures from invited guests. The topics and lecturers are often chosen by the students themselves and reflect their interests and needs. This term we look forward to lectures on:

• The Joys and Dangers of Alcohol by Anthony McLellan. Anthony has a thriving counselling practice in Harley Street, Central London. He is a regular participant in radio and television broadcasts on addiction and is often called upon by the legal profession to appear as an expert witness in these matters.
• E-Safety for Young Adults by Yvonne Howard, our own Director of the Senior School and expereinced pastoral leader at Ashford School and, previously, at Caterham School.
• The advantages of a Gap Year by Hektor Krome an adventurer and writer.
• Travel Writing by author Fran Sandham was an editor at Rough Guides for several years, and worked in bookselling and in the voluntary sector before that. He has travelled in over fifty countries. He now lives in London and Wirral, and divides his time between writing, public speaking and travel. He has written for many newspapers, magazines and travel publications, including the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, the Financial Times, Adventure Travel, Traveller magazine, Travel Africa and Country Walking.
• Gambling by Reg Starkey. Traditionally, society regards compulsive gambling as a moral failure of the individual. It perpetuates the behaviour, whilst it rejects the personality. The reality is that compulsive gambling may be defined as the purest form of Addiction. Pure, undiluted dependence. The anticipation, the event, the outcome, each one of these increasing the craving for another "hit".Reg is a Compulsive Gambler. Today he is abstinent from the process of gambling, and from this vantage point he is ideally placed to reflect and educate upon the difference between choice and compulsion, and between pastime and preoccupation.
• HIV by Emma Cole. Since being diagnosed HIV positive in 1991, Emma Cole has emerged as an exceptional example of turning something unthinkably tragic around and using it to the good of others. Having come to terms (as far as anyone ever can) with her own mortality, and living each day to the full, she has undertaken public speaking events for over fifteen years - addressing a wide cross section - in schools, within the health service, for youth groups, church groups and colleges. As Emma herself says, "I am incredibly frank", and in so being, she is incredibly honest and incredibly effective. She has up-to-date figures and information, as well as her own story - a stark reminder that none of us is immune.
• The Media by Abi Kelly who works in PR and music production
• A New Life by Steve Pendleton. Steve was an infantryman in the Royal Green Jackets when a helicopter he was in crashed on a hillside in Northern Ireland. He lost a leg at the scene, was blinded, made deaf in one ear and suffered terrible internal injuries. This is the story of his subsequent struggle to rebuild his life.
• Applying to University by our own Dr Marcus Allen, expert on the UCAS process and until recently and senior lecturer and admission tutor at Kent and Warwick universities.