Stamford Lecture Series

The Stamford Lectures are an enjoyable series of informative and entertaining talks from speakers who are experts in their particular field.

The lectures support our ethos of encouraging independent learning and intellectual curiosity. They are as valuable for inspiring debate and discussion at home and in the classroom as they are for being thought-provoking and imparting knowledge.

Our lectures are completely free of charge and are run as part of our commitment to supporting lifelong learning within our community and beyond. However, we welcome voluntary donations and the money you donate will go to supporting our bursary programme for local children.

Upcoming Lecture

Kerry Daynes

Tuesday 18 June 2024, 7:00pm

As a respected expert in her field, Kerry has supported numerous high profile police investigations, worked in maximum security prisons and has appeared on various TV programmes including Judge Rinder’s Crime Stories and Faking It: Tears of Crime.

Alongside her passion for forensic psychology, Kerry is a huge advocate for better conversations about mental wellbeing. She is a patron of The National Centre for Domestic Violence and Talking2Minds.

Kerry will talk to us about what she has learnt in over 20 years of working closely with extreme behaviour, along with sharing her jaw-dropping story of being stalked, and how it became the catalyst for social action. This is a heartfelt and fearless speech about speaking up for ourselves, championing each other, creating our own networks and transforming a frightening experience into an opportunity to make a positive impact.

Booking will open in due course.

Past Speakers

Motivational speaker

Claire Lomas MBE (OS 98)

A motivational speaker, campaigner, fundraiser and former event rider, Old Stamfordian Claire became a paraplegic as a result of a riding accident in 2007. In 2012, she finished the 32nd Virgin London Marathon in 17 days using the ReWalk robotic suit.

Adventurer

Sarah Outen MBE (OS 03)

A record-breaking adventurer by land and sea, bestselling author, award-winning filmmaker and motivational speaker, Old Stamfordian Sarah was the first woman and the youngest person to row solo across the Indian Ocean and also the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Alaska.

Award-winning nurse and peace worker

Dr Dame Claire Bertschinger DBE DL

Dame Claire is recognized as one of the most influential female nurses of all time. Her work in Ethiopia in 1984 inspired Band Aid and subsequently Live Aid, the biggest relief program ever mounted. She won the Florence Nightingale medal in 1991, in 2005 she was made Women of the Year and 2007 received the Human Rights in Nursing Award from the International Centre for Human Rights and Nursing Ethics.

Co-founder of Leon, chair of Chefs in Schools

Henry Dimbleby MBE

Henry is the co-founder and former CEO of Leon restaurants. He also co-founded the Sustainable Restaurant Association and the charity Chefs in Schools, which brings restaurant chefs into school kitchens. In 2013, he co-authored The School Food Plan, a blueprint for government setting out actions to transform what children eat in schools and how they learn about food. He also led an independent review for Government, the National Food Strategy.

British Ski Jumper

Eddie The Eagle

Michael Edwards, better known as Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards, was the first competitor to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Olympic Ski jumping, despite having very little skill for his sport. Eddie’s heroic failures won the hearts and minds of the British public at the time making him more popular than most gold medal winners.

Biomimetic Architect

Michael Pawlyn

Michael Pawlyn was one of the lead architects behind the Eden Project in Cornwall. Treating nature as a blueprint, he believes there are huge gains to be made by learning from how the natural world works.

Plasma physicist

Dr Melanie Windridge

A plasma physicist, speaker, writer and adventurer, Dr Melanie Windridge has a PhD in fusion energy from Imperial College London, is Communications Consultant for fusion company Tokamak Energy, Founder of Fusion Energy Insights, is a STEM Ambassador and the author of Aurora: In Search of Northern Lights.

The 'Doctor Who' of Artificial Intelligence

Professor Rose Luckin

Rosemary (Rose) Luckin is Professor of Learner Centred Design at UCL Knowledge Lab and renowned for her research into the design and evaluation of educational technology. She was named one of the 20 most influential people in education in the Seldon List, 2017.

Astrophysicist & BBC Presenter

Dr Kevin Fong

Kevin Fong is a consultant anaesthetist at University College London. He holds degrees in astrophysics, medicine and aerospace engineering, he has worked and trained with NASA, and he’s an award-winning BBC presenter and author.

Professor Alice Roberts

Professor Alice Roberts

Andy McNab

Andy McNab

David Starkey

David Starkey

Dan Cruickshank

Dan Cruickshank

Professor Susannah Lipscombe

Professor Susannah Lipscombe

A.C. Grayling

A.C. Grayling

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