Nicholls Lecture Series

The Nicholls Lecture Series provides Sixth Form students with thought-provoking lectures on a broad range of topics to introduce them to ideas, interests and experiences beyond the academic curriculum.

Brian Anderson

By Caelan, Upper Sixth Form Student

On Friday 18th September Birkenhead School was delighted to welcome Brian Anderson to present 'The Anthropocene Era and Global Commons' as our first Nicholls Lecture of the academic year. The students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation with A level geographers particularly benefitting from the talk.

Despite a period of great uncertainty, Mr Anderson was kind enough to visit our School and deliver two illustrated talks – one for Sixth Form and another specifically for A level geographers. In both of his talks, Brian Anderson drew upon his visits to over 60 countries, utilizing his personal experiences and insights to help stress the importance of the topics in question. I believe that these lectures have helped my peers and me to understand how relevant our anthropic impact is for our generation, as a race we are continuing to put great environmental stress on the World.

I also had a particular interest in Anderson’s discussion on the global commons, especially how geopolitical factors are threatening the longevity of the Arctic, with nations seeking to extract resources for personal gain – once again showing how these issues are very much relevant and current for my generation. I would like to thank Mr Anderson on behalf of Birkenhead Sixth Form for taking the time to deliver these illustrated talks.

Mr Andrew Taylor

By Rohan, Upper Sixth Form Student

Mr. Taylor, an orthopaedic surgeon based at Spire Liverpool, was kind enough to visit our School and deliver a socially distanced lecture entitled, “So you want to be a surgeon?” to the Upper Sixth and to prospective medical applicants in the Lower Sixth.

During his lecture, Mr. Taylor talked about his journey to medicine, what an orthopaedic surgeon does and the demands that come with working in the NHS. Though the photos of compound fractures and motor-cycle accidents were not for the faint-hearted, the main message of his talk is certainly applicable to everyone: “Work hard but also play hard”. Speaking about his own experience at medical school, Mr. Taylor told us about how he enjoyed playing sports to help balance his gruelling studies. I know that this will be very useful advice for my peers and me as our A-Level preparations continue to intensify over the coming months.

As an aspiring doctor, I found Mr. Taylor’s lecture very insightful and interesting as, although he explained that Medicine is not the glamourous career it is often made out to be and requires much sacrifice, he emphasised that he would never dream of doing another job since he feels that by being a doctor he can truly have a positive impact on people’s lives. On behalf of the Sixth Form and Birkenhead School, I would like to thank Mr. Taylor for taking the time to come and talk to us.

John Barnes MBE

By Jim, Lower Sixth Student

In March, John Barnes MBE delivered a passionate and interactive lecture on the history of race and prejudice to Birkenhead School Sixth Form.

John Barnes is an internationally recognised household name for his achievements whilst a player at Liverpool Football Club, where he picked up two First Division titles, two FA Cups, a League Cup and three FA Charity Shields. As well as this, he has won personal accolades such as PFA Player’s Player of the Year in 1988 and was included in the It was truly an honour to have such a prestigious guest speaker to take part in the Nicholls Lecture Series for our Sixth Form. John began the lecture by diving into the historical aspects of racism and prejudice in the UK and around the world. He addressed issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, which sparked mass protests last May following the killing of George Floyd, and why athletes taking a knee prior to sporting events, is only raising awareness of the issue of racism, however won’t lead to the change he believed was necessary in the fight against racism.

Mr Barnes continued by sharing personal experiences of racism he faced on and off the pitch, including an infamous recollection of his, when a football supporter threw a banana aimed at him when playing football for Liverpool, and that he had recieved racist abuse from opposition players throughout his playing career

To conclude the lecture, John answered many questions from the eager Sixth Form, through a virtual Q&A session.

On behalf of Birkenhead School, we thank Mr Barnes for taking time to speak with us, who educated all of us, providing fresh perspectives on a critical issue facing the world.

Old Birkonian, Admiral Sir Philip Jones, delivered an insightful lecture to students from Year 10 to Upper Sixth entitled 'Dealing with Imposter Syndrome, Embracing Meritocracy, Exploiting Opportunities'.

"I genuinely believe that my ability to make it in that world (the Royal Navy) was down to the gifts and skills that I was given at Birkenhead School." Admiral Sir Phiip Jones, March 2021

By David Taylor, Deputy Head Student

Admiral Sir Philip Jones served as First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy from 2016-2019. It was a great privilege to receive a lecture from such a high-ranking individual and his words came with extra power knowing that he had achieved his career as a pupil of Birkenhead School. The title of the lecture was: 'Dealing with Imposter Syndrome, Embracing Meritocracy, Exploiting Opportunities' and it was through these three ideas that Sir Philip Jones’ humbly described his career.

Sir Philip began the lecture with a brief outline of his childhood and career. He was born on the Wirral and attended a local primary school before studying at Birkenhead School. As the first person in his family to go to university he studied at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and Oxford University. From there he progressed through the ranks of the Navy until being appointed First Sea Lord in 2016, the highest position in the Navy.

Although he acknowledged what an achievement it was to reach such a powerful position, he described his success not just as a result of his talents, but rather because of his ability to seize the opportunities that he was presented in the meritocracy of the Navy. And his message to students revolved around this point. He said that anyone can succeed if they are able to work hard to bring out the abilities they have inside them and by seeing and taking the opportunities that are presented. If you are able to do this, then the presence of imposter syndrome should be diminished because any success that you achieve is fully deserved.