Theme: Ideas for Change

The King’s School Chester is proud to announce that in April 2018, we will be hosting our very own TEDx youth talk: the student led initiative will be comprised of pupils of the school, in addition to guest speakers, sharing their own ideas on topics they have a passion for. The TEDx program provides a platform for speakers presenting great, well-formed ideas in concise presentations.

Throughout the event, student and guest speakers will present their talks, discussing ideas for change and delivering unique insights. By hosting this TEDx youth event we hope to not only inspire, innovate and encourage all those taking part and watching, but also to encourage an environment that allows pupils’ passions to become reality.

The King's School Chester
The King's School Chester
Wrexham Road
Chester, Cheshire West and Chester, CH4 7QL
United Kingdom

David Barker

Author and Economist

As a corporate economist, the idea for David’s book Blue Gold took hold. The book marks a warning: a world war for water provides a dystopian background to an intense thriller. This premise of resource scarcity launched David into a departure from full time economics into writing, with his new book and transition inspiring David to talk about his own experiences.

Gareth James

CEO of Intilery

Since 2012, Gareth has worked as the founder and CEO of Intilery; they develop overviews of a company’s marketing activities, whilst taking an analytical approach to customer behavior creating personalized marketing campaigns. In doing so, the recent exponential growth of artificial intelligence and its application in “big data” has provided the platform for Gareth’s success.

Hamish Strudwick

Year 13 student

Eating meat and environmentalism done right The issue of carnivorous ethics in modern society is not one without potential solutions. In contrasting the inefficiency of the meat industry to renewable farming techniques, is there a way to continue eating meat without damaging your carbon footprint?

Ian O'Doherty

CEO of Park Group plc

Ian is currently the CEO of Park Group plc, leaders in financial services, having been awarded numerous awards for Customer service and Employee engagement. Although a civil engineer by degree, Ian’s additional financial experience as CEO of MBNA and a board member of UK Finance provides the perfect background to highlight his own personal experience within the UK’s largest sector.

Louise Minchin

Journalist, Presenter, Corporate host, Triathlete

Louise Minchin is a hugely respected, and well-known journalist, broadcaster and TV presenter. She currently presents Breakfast on BBC One, the UK’s most watched morning TV programme, with over six and a half million viewers a day. Outside her work commitments, Louise is a passionate triathlete and qualified in her age group for Team GB. She competed in the World Triathlon Championships in Chicago in 2015, and the European Triathlon Championships in Lisbon in 2016.

Martin Bryant

Consultant, speaker, writer, and educator

He was previously Editor-in-chief of international technology publication The Next Web, and Community Editor at Tech North, where he shone a light on the stories of start-ups and entrepreneurs in the North of England. Having interviewed top technology executives onstage at prestigious conferences like the Web Summit, SXSW, and LeWeb – Martin will speak about ‘Surfing (not sinking) in a world of constant change’.

Nonhlanhla Makuyana

Youth Network and Office Assistant at Positive Money

Nonhlanhla's is working on engaging people from minority backgrounds in the movement for monetary reform. At Positive Money, Nonhlanhla organises and hosts events aimed at giving a platform to voices that are underrepresented in economics - empowering people of colour, working class people, young people and women to actively fight against the effects of the money and banking system. Nonhlanhla has a passion for people powered change.

Oliver Irvine

Year 12 student

The case for scrapping trident A bone of contention in contemporary politics: the incessant lack of consensus over Britain’s nuclear weapons system. This political infighting has prompted Oli to put forward his case - stripping away the emotions from the explosive argument.

Rebecca Perkins

Year 13 student

A performance of 'La Puerta del Vino' mixed with a closer look at the role of the performer in romantic music. Contextual insight into the views of famous composers such as Debussy and the opinions of respected musicologists shed light on both sides of a performer's purpose: an artist in their own right, or simply the 'middle man'?

Tom Wood

Year 12 student

The Age of Plastic: human alterations to the physical world Tom’s talk hopes to show that by affecting the landscape around us in a plethora of ways, the impact of micro plastics cannot be ignored; the need for crude oil sustainability remains paramount.