Ignite Programme

Our programme of visiting speakers sparks the imagination; kick starts curiosity and challenges perceptions. From conservationists and journalists to film makers and musicians, our Ignite Programme speakers come from all careers and all corners of the world, offering children unrivalled insight into some of the world’s most fascinating people, careers and challenges.

2024-2025 Programme

Lottie Hopkinson

 Our pupils were delighted to meet a special guest, Lottie Hopkinson-Woolley @lottie_hopkinson . Lottie travelled to Scotland to Ridgway Adventure with Mr. Miller over ten years ago, where she met John Ridgway, who famously rowed across the Atlantic in 1966. After leaving Stowe School @stoweschool in 2018, Lottie
began searching for something suitably
challenging—and she has found it in rowing across the
Pacific Ocean unsupported next April.

The @seastheday2022 adventure is an incredible 8,000-mile journey, during which she and her team will face numerous challenges, including rogue waves, physical exhaustion, and encounters with marlin and sharks!

Lottie shared insights into the planning and execution of such an expedition, showcasing true Changemaker skills. She was upbeat and positive, answering questions with candid honesty and infectious enthusiasm.

"Why are you doing this?" asked a thoughtful Year 4 pupil.
"Why not?" Lottie replied.

Winchester House will be supporting Lottie and her team on their challenge next spring, and we look forward to following her exploits every step of the way … and Lottie the Lion too, of course!

Alex Metaxas

A fascinating talk from Mr Alex Metaxas on all things AI. The children loved hearing all about what AI is, how the cloud operates, and how AI is programmed to learn.

Alex brought his love of computing and AI alive through an engaging presentation, fun demonstration, and by answering questions from the children (and adults!).

Metro Bank

The first Ignite talk of the academic year was delivered by Elmira Sharshenbekova and Kassey Wright of @metro_bank who discussed the topics of what banks do, money and gave the children advice on how to save and grow their money, as well as an in-depth review of the careers available. The children were fascinated and the Hall was a field on enquiring hands.

2023-2024 Programme

Ellen Fallows

GP and parent Dr Ellen Fallows is giving the first Ignite talk of the term to the children on 'You are what you eat' focusing on how cool vegetables really are and the impact of food on how you feel.

Gavin Pilcher

We look forward to welcoming parent Gavin Pilcher of @wastewisekids to School to give the last Ignite talk of term.

Set up by Mr & Mrs Pilcher, the aim of @wastewisekids is to support primary schools in educating young children about waste, recycling and sustainability, and to give children the knowledge and understanding needed to actively reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Squadron Leader Glencairn-Campbell

We look forward to welcoming Squadron Leader Glencairn-Campbell to School for an Ignite talk on 'How the Military supports us all in times of need'.

Sqn Ldr Glencairn-Campbell joined the army as a full-time reservist in 1998 and has worked in many different roles. He worked for two years on the response to COVID in London and HM The Queen’s funeral. He transferred to the Royal Air Force in September this year and now teaches all over the UK on how the Military supports civilian authorities.

Joel Humphrey

We were delighted to welcome Orthopaedic Surgeon and Parent Joel Humphrey to School to deliver the first Ignite talk of the academic year.

Mr Humphrey enthused about life as a surgeon, specialising in foot & ankle surgery, shared some fascinating pre and post operation X-rays, handed around demonstration foot skeletons and emphasised the importance of soft skills in the profession. The children asked some fantastic questions and Mr Humphrey received a very loud round of applause. We are sure to have some budding surgeons in our midst!

2022-2023 Programme

Will Perry

We were all absolutely delighted to welcome Paralympian @will_perryy to School today for an Ignite talk. Will spoke about his @paralympicsgb_official journey, his campaign for inclusion and the importance of being kind and taking every opportunity in life.

The children in Pre-Prep and the Upper School had 101 questions for Will who answered them with great honesty and humour.

We wish Will all the very best at the World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira this month and the Commonwealth Games in August, and will be glued to the live coverage! Go Will 🇬🇧

Natalie Briant

Child psychologist Dr Natalie Briant will be discussing anxiety and how children overcome it with parents in the Forum on Thursday 28th April at 5.30pm.

Anxiety and worry are a normal part of childhood but for some children this can grow and start to impact on life. This has been particularly true for our current generation of children with the last two years of the pandemic making life tough for many children (and their families too). Natalie is going to help us understand how to make sense of these reactions and explain them to our children, as well as teach us some practical exercises that can help with worry that are suitable for children of all ages (and work for adults).

 

Dominic Sandbrook

We were delighted to welcome historian, author, broadcaster and parent Dominic Sandbrook to School this afternoon to give an Ignite talk on WW1.

The children listened intently as Mr Sandbrook described the reasons behind the start of WW1 and showed photos of the war’s heroes and heroines.

The Q&A at the end of the talk was peppered with fabulous questions ranging from Q: What is your favourite book? A: The Lord of the Rings to Q: Who won the Battle of the Somme? A: It was a draw but the Allied Forces advanced 6 miles in to enemy territory. You might also like to know that his favourite football team is Wolverhampton Wanderers!

His latest children’s book ‘Adventures in Time - The First World War’ by @particularbooks takes the reader back in time to a world engulfed by war, from the soaring heights of an aeroplane cockpit to the desperate depths of the enemy trenches. It’s a must read for children with a thirst for modern history.

 

2021-2022 Programme

Lydia Sanders

We were delighted to welcome Lydia Sanders to School to give an Ignite talk on her new book series Hysterical-Herstories and to discuss how to become an author and what stories she's planning to write next.

The children were intrigued to hear about the lives of Marie Curie, Coco Chanel, Rosa Parks, Boudicca and Ada Lovelace; all ordinary women from history who led extraordinary lives.

Clare Balding Returns

We welcome Clare Balding to WHS on the 30th September for the second time, the first being in 2016 when she introduced her first ever children's book 'The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop'. One of the main characters - Percy the Palamino - was based on the Shetland pony Storm ridden by then pupil and now Housian Martha McGowan who also bears an uncanny resemblance to the heroine of the story Charlie Bass!

We can't wait to hear Clare talk about her inspiration for 'Fall Off, Get Back On, Keep Going: 10 ways to be at the top of your game!', her recent coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and her career as an author, TV and radio presenter and journalist.

Clare's first question to the children in 2016 was 'who has fallen off a horse?' We wonder what she will ask us first this time?

Emmanuel Jal

We were delighted to welcome Emmanuel Jal to School to give a truly inspirational Ignite Talk to Year 7 and 8 pupils and staff.

He spoke about his life’s journey from his start as a child soldier in Sudan to becoming an acclaimed recording artist and peace ambassador.

Emmanuel encouraged the children to think about what they want to be/achieve in the future, to follow their dreams, to maintain a positive attitude, to dust themselves down from failure and not to worry about what other people think and say.

Pupils and staff loved hearing about his charity Jalgua, dancing to Emmanuel’s music and being able to ask him lots of questions, notably Q: Who is your hero? A: Anyone who inspires me at that moment in time, Q: Have you met anyone famous? A: Will.i.am, Angelina Jolie and President Clinton amongst many others, and (very importantly) Q: Which football team to you support? A: Chelsea when I lived in London.

We thank Emmanuel for sharing his story with us, for inspiring us to reach our individual goals and for bringing such positive energy to the Forum on a Wednesday morning

2020-2021 Programme

The 2020-2021 ignite speaker platform continued from strength to strength, with another fantastic line-up of speakers, talking both in School and virtually via Google Meet, enthusing about their lives, careers and adventures.

Clarissa Ward Frontline Reporter

Clarissa Ward, CNN's Chief International Correspondent and aunt of Thalia (Year 8) and Lucia (Year 6), gave the first Ignite talk of the summer term  from isolation in an hotel room in Greece on route home from covering the covid pandemic in India.

Clarissa told the children that she was completing her final year at Yale University when the 9/11 bombings occurred. From that moment onwards, she wanted to become an investigative journalist and television presenter.

For more than 15 years Clarissa has reported from the frontline across the world from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen to Ukraine, Georgia and Iran. She was formerly with CBS News, based in London, and before that was a Moscow-based news correspondent for ABC News. She has won five Emmy awards, graduated with a Distinction from Yale, is fluent in French and Italian, conversational in Russian, Arabic and Spanish and knows basic Mandarin Chinese and is author of ‘On All Fronts’.

Clarissa reinforced the importance of listening, understanding both sides of a story, putting yourself out of your comfort zone and the skill sets needed by a journalist.

Lawrence D'Silva, Presenter, Filmmaker & Natural World Specialist

Housian (1996-2002), Presenter, Filmmaker and Natural World specialist Lawrence D'Silva gave an Ignite talk to the children and spoke about his career from working as a safari guide in southern Africa and on renewable energy projects in the UK to presenting on the BBC's One Show.

Nature has always been his passion and he has worked on a new BBC studios documentary on biodiversity loss, presented by Sir David Attenborough. He made his first wildlife documentary at the age of 13 on an ancient camcorder. Lawrtence's skills in factual film were developed via the Journalism School at City University, London. 

Mr Martin’s Navy Career

Seligman’s ‘Sail Away’ creative curriculum topic was brought to life by Mr Martin who, before entering education, was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and served for 12 years in HM Ships Campbeltown, Invincible, Liverpool, Hurworth, Nottingham, Severn, Clyde and Dragon, and latterly as the Captain of Archer for 12 and a bit years.

He talked about why ships and the Navy are still important and discussed the similarities in navigational techniques now and 100s of years ago. The children were fascinated and loved seeing Mr Martin’s naval memorabilia.

Gemma Lawton's Sea Cadet Experiences

Gemma Lewton, who works part-time at WHS in the Catering Department as a student member of Staff, came to talk to Years 3 and 4 about her experiences with the local Sea Cadets inline with their ‘Sail Away’ creative curriculum topic.

The children loved trying on Gemma’s uniform and hearing all about her experiences.