Senior School

On Friday 2 October, we held our largest and most successful Academic Scholars’ Dinner to date. Nearly 90 Academic Scholars from Middle 5 to Upper 6 gathered in the Blake Studio to hear a fascinating talk by scientist and educator Crawford Kingsnorth, intriguingly titled Death, Dinner or Doolally. What followed was a captivating journey into the world of mushrooms and fungi. Pupils were introduced to the remarkable scale, complexity and apparent ‘intelligence’ of fungal networks, discovering a wealth of intriguing facts, exciting scientific developments on the horizon, and the potentially deadly consequences of some species. Crawford also spoke about his current research, which is currently patent-pending. While understandably unable to reveal too much at this stage, he gave us a tantalising glimpse into work that we look forward to hearing more about in the future. The talk concluded with a wide range of thoughtful and insightful questions from pupils before everyone moved to the Refectory for an excellent meal. This provided a valuable opportunity for scholars to continue conversations with our speaker and with one another in a relaxed and convivial setting. We are extremely grateful to Crawford for joining us as this year’s speaker. His presentation gave pupils an insight into a fascinating and often overlooked area of science, while also drawing connections to history, geology, medicine and law. It was a perfect example of the intellectual curiosity and cross-curricular thinking that our Academic Scholars programme seeks to encourage and celebrate. Thank you to Alice Y and Iris B for their photos of the evening.