Foundation Magazine 2021-2022 | Mount Kelly

ACADEMICS
LECTURES
HISTORY LECTURE BY
PROFESSOR DORAN
A Level historians attended a virtual
lecture on the Elizabethan Settlement by
Professor Susan Doran of the University
of Oxford. Professor Doran is one of the
world’s most respected Tudor historians,
and her wealth of knowledge combined
with her engaging style of speaking
meant that all in attendance learnt a lot.
The talk was followed by a productive
Q&A session, which provided pupils
with an opportunity to ask the Professor
questions relevant to their A Level course,
such as whether the Settlement reflected
Elizabeth’s personal views and the extent
to which Puritans and Catholics were a
threat to the Elizabethan Church. It was
great to see some non-historians attend
the talk, who undoubtedly would have
learnt a lot too.
HISTORY LECTURES ON THE
EARLY TUDORS
Sixth form historians were able to attend
a further two virtual lectures, focusing
on the reigns of the early Tudors. They
first looked at the relative success of
Henry VII’s foreign policy, an area underresearched
still, and pupils were left with
Dr Jenni Hyde’s message that questions
remain unanswered in Tudor history even
now - an important reminder that history
remains a wholly relevant and evolving
field. Pupils then enjoyed Dr Adam
Morton’s review of Geoffrey Elton’s views
about Thomas Cromwell’s supposed
‘revolution’ in Tudor government during
the reign of Henry VIII. Both lectures
were valuable in providing revision for the
Upper Sixth and an introduction to key
syllabus themes for the Lower Sixth - a
beneficial morning for all.
By Isabelle Davis, Year 13
LECTURE ON INFLUENCING
Our Lower Sixth General Studies pupils
were treated to a fascinating online
lecture on Influencing by OMK Jeremy
Cassell - a business coach, consultant,
trainer, and author of award-winning
business books. Jeremy shared his widely
acclaimed C3 Model of Influencing and
gave practical and easy-to-adopt tactics
on how to influence effectively using
Confidence, Credibility and Connection.
He made it relatable to the audience by
demonstrating how these tactics can be
applied to finesse interview and public
presentation skills, and used interactive
software to engage pupils and canvass
their opinions throughout. The dynamic
and engaging lecture was a perfect
example of influencing an audience to
great effect!
TOM BURY MATHS LECTURE
Tom Bury (OMK 1997-2010) gave a very
interesting talk via video link from his home
in Montreal to Sixth Form and Year 11
mathematicians. After his undergraduate
and masters in Mathematics at
Cambridge, Tom did a PhD at the
University of Waterloo (Canada) in Applied
Mathematics. He is now a postdoctoral
researcher at McGill University where
he is in the Department of Physiology
doing research using Maths and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) to help understand and
predict cardiac arrythmias. During his
lecture, Tom explored the topic of Maths
beyond school and gave pupils a taste of
what it might be like to study Maths at
university, either in its pure form or as an
applied subject.
AUTHOR | RUPERT ATTLEE
We were delighted to welcome author,
Rupert Attlee, to the Prep to talk to pupils
in Years 5-8 about his experiences in
Patagonia which inspired his book, Lost
at the End of the World. It tells the story
of four children, who are shipwrecked
while sailing round Cape Horn. They are
then swept onto the shores of Patagonia,
one of the wildest places on earth. But
they soon find they are not alone…
Rupert’s illustrated talk travels in the
footsteps of the children as they come
face-to-face with extraordinary animals
and landscapes, and tells of a journey
of survival, self-discovery and ultimately
friendship.
BISHOP’S STORTFORD
COLLEGE | FESTIVAL OF
LITERATURE
We accessed a full programme of
exciting and interactive author webinars
as part of the Bishop’s Stortford College
Festival of Literature. Lower Prep pupils
joined author and poet, Alex Wharton,
to hear all about his book Daydreams
and Jelly Beans whilst the Middle Prep
explored Alice and Emily Hawarth-
Booth’s Protest!: How people have
come together to change the world,
creating their own posters on issues
that matter to them in response. Years
5 and 6 thoroughly enjoyed Phil Earle’s
discussion on how he became an author
and his reading of When the Sky Falls,
a book about the Blitz, an angry boy, a
gruff woman and a gorilla! In Pre-Prep,
the children engaged with Catherine
Emmet and David Tazzyman’s book
The Pet. At the other end of the school,
Years 11-13 are accessed global bestselling
writer, Lisa Jewell’s webinar on
The Night She Disappeared, her writing
style and inspiration. The Upper Prep
joined Robert Muchamore, author of
the fantastic Cherub series, A.M Dassu,
author of Boy Everywhere, and BAFTAwinning
producer/presenter and author,
David Olusoga discussed his acclaimed
book: Black and British- A short, essential
history.
ENTREPRENEUR INSPIRES
SIXTH FORM PUPILS
Our Sixth Form Business and
Economics pupils were delighted to
meet entrepreneur, Roger Edwards
(OMK 1981-83), who attended Mount
Kelly as a Sixth Form pupil on a rugby
bursary. Following a gap year working
as a commercial fisherman, Roger left
university after just three days and went
to work in the world of banking. 20 years
later he decided to go it alone, setting
up his own financial advisory business at
the age of 43, which he then sold after
11 years for over £30 million. Roger
encouraged pupils to take the time to
think deeply about what they really want
to achieve in life, and demonstrated how
his own success is largely attributable to
setting himself ambitious personal and
business goals, which he then achieved
through hard work and determination.
He also urged pupils to push themselves
out of their comfort zones and take on
challenges that will help them grow and
differentiate them from their peers in the
job market.
BEACH GUARDIAN TALK AND
WORKSHOP
Beach Guardian visited the Lower Prep
from Cornwall to talk to pupils about
plastic pollution and how we can reduce,
reuse, and recycle the plastic waste
found on our beaches and in the sea.
A fascinating talk was followed by a
carousel of activities including weaving
fishing nets, looking at plastic under a
microscope, sorting plastic particles and
making environmental posters.
ACADEMICS
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