King’s is inspired by science

Last week, a host of phenomenally talented scientists and engineers came along to share their knowledge and expertise at The King’s School.  The school was delighted to host its first ‘Inspiring Minds’ event, with a Science and Engineering theme. Pupils from King’s and other local schools were able to hear from a fantastic array of scientists, engineers and innovators.

Guest speakers included, Dr Sue Assinder from the Livepool School of Tropical Medicine, Professor of Zoology Matthew Cobb from the University of Manchester and Miss Maisie Snowdon, postgraduate student at the University of Chester. Several high achieving alumni returned to the school to speak and share their expertise with pupils including: Professor Hagan Bayley, Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Oxford; Professor Christopher Hall, Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh; Dr Phillip Hallam-Baker, Vice President and Principal Scientist at Comodo Group and Mr Rowan Pritchard Jones, Consultant Plastic Reconstructive Surgeon.

The presentations offered a fantastic opportunity for over 200 students to learn from these experts and spark an interest in their particular fields of study.

Following the presentations, students were invited to visit an exciting array of expo stalls. With the help of West Cheshire & North Wales Chamber of Commerce the school filled its hall with stalls hosted by leading universities and local organisations including Chester Zoo, INEOS, Siemens, The Raspberry Pi Foundation, Arriva and the University of Chester.  Each and every stand was fully interactive with plenty of opportunity for the students to talk to the experts in their chosen Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) field.

The event continued into the evening with an exclusive science-themed charity gala dinner for guests. The drinks reception, sponsored by Natwest was a fitting start to the evening with space age cocktails before the delicious science themed dinner was served. The whole event was championed by alumnus Professor Hagan Bayley, pioneering Professor of Chemical Biology, who treated guests to an engaging keynote after dinner address. The evening was a great success with a charity auction and raffle, prizes having been kindly donated by local businesses.

Over £65,000 was raised during the course of the evening, with all money going towards The King’s 100 Challenge for bursaries, the equivalent of funding almost three 6^th Form bursaries.

Headmaster, George Hartley said, “This was a huge event for the school and we were absolutely delighted to welcome such an exciting array of scientists, engineers and local companies, and indeed to welcome back many alumni. It was heartening to see so many pupils from other local schools coming to King’s and being so inspired by the event. Importantly, every penny raised from the evening goes to our King’s 100 Bursary Fund, helping us get that little bit closer to our vision of raising £30 million by 2041, which would help us support 20% of our Senior School pupils. My thanks go out to everyone who helped support the event and make it such a resounding success.”

Inspiring Minds Lightning Talks and Expo

Science and Engineering Dinner