Out-of-the-Box Thinking: What is secondary education for?

For the third of our Out-of-the-Box Thinking series, co-hosted by GlobalNet21 and Conway Hall, join us for a discussion with Sir Anthony Seldon and Melissa Benn about the purpose, values and philosophical basis of secondary education and how it needs to be radically rethought for the 21st century.

Both speakers will challenge the outdated ideological consensus that has dominated our educational thinking for the last three decades. Their presentations will be followed by questions and comments from the audience, and this will provide an opportunity to address issues concerning the breadth and nature of the curriculum, the pressures of assessment and inspections, league tables etc.

This is one of a series of events gathering evidence to enable GlobalNet21 to formulate a new educational ethos and infrastructure for widespread dissemination.

The emergence of the digital age, the growth of artificial intelligence, and the huge social disruption that these entail have had fundamental effects both on our relationship with knowledge and on the world of work. Yet school-based education has hardly acknowledged this disruptive change.

Sir Anthony Seldon is a political historian and commentator on British political leadership as well as on education and contemporary Britain. He is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, and was previously a transformative head teacher of Wellington College.

Melissa Benn is a writer and campaigner. Her journalism has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines and she is currently a regular contributor to The Guardian and New Statesman. Her books have included School Wars: The Battle for Britain’s Education.

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Please note to attend this event you will need to register for a ticket via Eventbrite (via the Book Now button) in order to ensure a place.

This event is free for members of GlobalNet21 and the Conway Hall Ethical Society.