The Horizon Lecture Series
By Emma Forward
This year's 6.2 Horizon Lecture Series began, as is
customary, with a talk from Mr Biggs on Apartheid.
We heard about the regime from both a personal and
historical perspective, including how South African
produce was boycotted in the UK, how sports were affected,
and what it was like to vote in a free election for the first time.
Dr John Robson's talk fascinated not just those of a scientific
bent, as he explained the work of a forensic dentist. He showed
how our teeth provide a wealth of unique information that can
be used to identify somebody post mortem. He has worked all
over the world, including identifying bodies in the Asian tsunami
and at various plane crashes.
Another well travelled speaker was OA Jessica Mason, who talked
to us about her experience as a media intern on the round-theworld clipper race 2011-12. There were insights on what it is
like to be at sea for 51 weeks out of a year, and Jessica's stress
on the importance of teamwork will hopefully be a message that
struck home.
Julie Arliss gave a very
enlightening talk on a woman's
place in relationships through
the centuries. She began with
a 'booklet for wives' from the
1960s and compared it to
the relationships within the
'Twilight' series, showing that
both encourage the submission
of women. Another speaker
on human relations was Alicia
Drummond, a counsellor who
has expertise in brain responses
to particular environments. Her talk explained to the Sixth
Formers how to give oneself the best chance of success in an
interview: a good handshake, eye-contact, and sitting in a
confident position will make all the difference.
Michael Pearn is the elder
brother of Michelle Pearn
and the son of an OA. Michael
suffers from cerebral palsy,
which affects the control of
all four limbs and his speech.
Despite his disability Michael
has led a very interesting
life, achieving a Gold DofE
Award, sailing on the Lord
Nelson and completing a
PHD.
OA Laura Bates (who has
also addressed the United
Nations) runs an online
campaign known as the
Everyday Sexism Project
(subsequently a book). She
talked to us about how sexual
abuse takes place in more
ways than you might think,
despite the fact that we think
we have achieved gender
equality. Her talk covered
aspects including the Freshers' Week party culture and how
online jokes and trolls can get out of hand. We also heard from
another high-flyer. Mandy Hickson is a retired RAF fighter pilot,
who talked about life on the front-line.
Proving the wide gamut of these lectures, Richard Salter's talk
was much closer to home. He showed us images of key features of
Taunton, explaining the town's origins and key historical events.
We learned the reason for certain place names, and found out
about aspects of industry and religious influence on the town.
It seems that there's more
to Taunton than meets the
eye.
Graphic-designer Jules Akel
gave a talk entitled 'You
Cannot Not Communicate.'
He put forward the
theory that everyone and
everything is in a constant
process of communication,
and that the message
that each person communicates is their 'reputation.' The same
concept applies to his work in brand design, and he explained -
usefully, to the Sixth Formers - how this reputation/image can be
manipulated to one's advantage.
Rob Law, from 'Trunki' suitcases,
talked about the many difficulties
he encountered in setting up his
business, with a long history of
rejections, including when he
featured on 'Dragons' Den.' Despite
all this, he now has a very successful
company specialising in children's
travel equipment. His Bristol-based
office is spaceship-themed, with an
indoor slide and ping-pong table for
his employees.
The success of these lectures for 6.2 pupils lies in the breadth of subjects
covered, as the following highlights show
Rob Law
Mandy Hickson
Alicia Drummond
Laura Bates
Michael Pearn
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