Pupils from partner schools to participate in interactive Hale Lectures Series
Named after Baroness Lady Hale, the first female President of the UK Supreme Court, and launched in September 2022, the Hale Lecture Series is a student-led, interactive interview programme featuring high-profile speakers. In the first year, we have welcomed an impressive line-up including Baroness Lady Hale; Gina Martin, political activist and author; Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, co-founder of Stemettes; Dr Hannah Dawson, feminist author, Cambridge academic and FHS alumna; and Amanda Pritchard, CEO of NHS England.
Although schools up and down the country regularly welcome visiting speakers as part of a school-wide lecture series, what’s unique about the Hale Lectures is that pupils orchestrate, plan and organise the events from start to finish; welcoming, interviewing, and offering a vote of thanks to each guest. In collaboration with our partner schools - St Marylebone School, King Solomon Academy, and All Saints Catholic School - pupils lead the conversations and Q&A with our guest speakers, breaking away from the traditional format of an extended lecture. It’s a far more personal, warm, and conversational approach to ensure everyone is actively engaged rather than sitting passively in the audience. It also generates larger audiences as the event is as much about the speaker as it is about the students on stage. There’s no doubt that pupils will always turn out to support each other when in action!
Aims
The objective is to strengthen collective student experience for King Solomon Academy, St Marylebone School, All Saints Catholic College and FHS students by allowing them to collaborate to orchestrate, plan and deliver these interviews, in doing so developing invaluable research, leadership, teamwork, analytical thinking and public speaking skills. Additionally, to inspire and educate students about the diverse range of career paths which our speakers have experienced.
Background
The Headmistress of Francis Holland and the Heads of St Marylebone, King Solomon Academy and All Saints Catholic College know each other well and are keen to work together for the success of girls across both schools.
Resources
FHS offers enrichment time, preparation time and use of our Sixth Form Centre, Linhope House, which has been modelled on a flexible co-working space, towards this project. Posters are circulated each term which include a QR code so that pupils at partner schools can register their interest and receive further information about the event. Whilst our partner school teachers often join the lectures with their pupils in Years 7-11, it’s also great to see sixth formers from our partner schools turn up on their own accord, and often they’re the last out the door because of their many excellent questions!
Impact
The impact is quantitative to the tune of over around 60 pupils so far from St Marylebone, All Saints Catholic College and King Solomon Academy, a number which we hope to build on in the 2023-24 academic year.
It is also qualitative in terms of developing both our and their pupils’ confidence and other essential interpersonal skills such as research, public speaking, teamwork, leadership and making informed and sensitive conversation. They also build invaluable leadership skills; acting as inspirational and supportive figures for their peers and for younger year groups, who are encouraged to participate interactively.
Feedback from partner schools has also been excellent, with one student saying, ““I love signing up to The Hale Lectures at FHS. I’ve been to all four so far this year. My favourite has got to be hearing from Baroness Lady Hale and getting her to sign my copy of ‘Spider Woman’.”
Pupil Involvement
Our partner schools are fully engaged with the lecture series and it’s delightful to see their pupils turning up in large numbers- so far, 60 pupils in total from Years 7 to 13 have attended.
Frequency
Twice termly since September 2022.