Polaris Lecture #2

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We were delighted to welcome Dr Matthew Williams BSc (Bristol) MSc DPhil (Oxon), the Access and Career Development Fellow at Jesus College, Oxford to deliver the second lecture in our Polaris Series.  Students participated in a lively lecture titled 'Words are weapons: on the potential of language to do us harm'.  This required them to think more deeply about the origins, function and power of language, exploring pronunciation and the politics of language along the way.  Year 8 and 9 students also experienced a thinking skills session and were given advice on how to make a competitive Oxford application. In addition to this, students were given the opportunity to ‘grill’ Dr Williams about the Oxford University experience.

Reflecting on their second Polaris lecture, students found it 'really interesting and enlightening' and 'amazing' as well as 'encouraging us to think about language in a different way.'

The Polaris Lecture Series gives our students the opportunity to participate in talks and lectures delivered by a variety of inspiring academics and professionals throughout the academic year.