Lectures and Speakers

Lectures and Guest Speakers

Bradley Busch, Inner Drive

In November we welcomed Bradley Busch, psychologist and director at Inner Drive to talk to our Sixth Formers on ‘delivering your best when it matters most’. Specialising in realising the potential behind growth mindset, metacognition and stress management strategies, Bradley shared the seven key habits for success with students.

Turn of Phrase

In the Autumn Term Year 10 students participated in an interactive workshop run by communications and theatre company Turn of Phrase which focused on topics such as the shifting definitions of gender, gender stereotypes, the influence of social media and key movements such as MeToo and Everyone’s Invited.

Greek and Roman Mythology Talk

Our budding Year 9 classicists were very pleased to welcome back author Athina Monk-Mitropoulos to her old stomping ground. A former teacher at Godolphin, Athina covered some of the most compelling aspects of Greek and Roman mythology – from heroes to gods and monsters – and explored modern retellings of myths from recent works such as Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls to her own book Once Upon a Myth.

It Happens

As part of our PSHE programme, we welcomed Dr Eleanor Draeger from It Happens to speak to our Lower Sixth students and to run a webinar for parents. The age-appropriate workshops covered topics such as pornography, sexting, and consent. Over 100 parents joined Dr Draeger for the evening webinar.

Peter Hall

As part of our PSHE programme our Upper Sixth students welcomed Peter Hall to the school. Peter visits schools, hospitals and other institutions across the country, using his own personal experiences to stimulate awareness and discussion around drug and alcohol addiction.

Hibo Wardere and Satveer Nijjar

In the Spring Term we invited prominent campaigner and educator for #nofgm, Hibo Wardere, to speak to our Sixth Formers about her campaign to make the world a better place for women. In the same week, Satveer Nijjar delivered sessions to Year 10 students about mental health and wellbeing and then spoke to staff about issues relating to self-harm.

Tim Marshall

Geopolitical author, journalist and foreign affairs expert, Tim Marshall, made a timely visit to Godolphin and Latymer as part of our Literature Week 2022. Longstanding Foreign Affairs Editor and Diplomatic Editor for Sky News, Tim is the author of a number of bestselling books including Prisoners of Geography. His assembly for the Middle School and lectures to the Sixth Form of course touched on the evolving situation in Ukraine.

Izzy Hughes (Class of 2016)

We were delighted to welcome back Old Dolphin, Izzy Hughes (Class of 2016), founder of The Refugee Rights Project, to talk to our Year 9 students about the plight of refugees and to challenge some of the common stereotypes, misinformation and misunderstandings. Izzy took time out from studying for her MSc in International Migration and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to inspire and share her knowledge with us.

Mr Ben Merrick, CMG

Mr Ben Merrick, CMG, Disability Champion for the UK Government’s National Security Community, was invited by the Diversity Committee to talk about his amazing career in public service. Visually impaired, until July 2021 Ben was the Director of Overseas Territories at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and his current role involves working closely with organisations such as MI5, MI6, GCHQ, the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the Treasury. Ben talked about his career, the challenges and opportunities he has embraced, and the importance of problem solving and taking calculated risks.

Captain Humphrey Madden

Among our prolific guest speakers was former British Army officer, Captain Humphrey Madden, who as a commissioned officer in The Rifles had previously served as part of NATO’s deployment in the Baltic States. His insightful and enlightening talk covered many aspects of the current Ukrainian conflict, emphasising throughout the value of diplomacy over violence.

Edward Paice: Youthquake

In May our Geography department invited Edward Paice to talk about his recently published book, Youthquake, and why African demography should matter to the world. Edward Paice is Director of the Africa Research Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and author of many travel and natural history guides for Kenya and newly independent Eritrea.

Professor Peter Childs

As part of our STEM Week celebrations, Professor Peter Childs, the Professorial Lead in Design Engineering at Imperial College London, came in to talk to Year 8 students about creative thinking in engineering. We were also delighted to welcome Kirstie Taylor, a fourth year Design Engineering student at Imperial College, who gave the girls some fascinating insight into her degree.

James Darley

James Darley from Transform Society joined us to talk to our Lower Sixth students about what it’s like to find a job as a graduate. With fascinating insights into the graduate job market and lots of useful advice about how to develop the transferable skills that employers find attractive, James also explored the range of openings for graduates to enter front-line public service roles.