Priory Sixth experience.
Priory Sixth students, Simran, Yuuri and Karuna attended ‘The Battle of Ideas Festival’, on Saturday 9th October. The Battle of Ideas Festival is organised by the Academy of Ideas whose website says, ‘Since 2005 we have been carving out a space for public debate, bringing together hundreds of speakers and thousands of attendees to discuss the key issues of our time. From the debates themselves to the conversations going on around them, we believe that hashing things out in the public square helps us to better understand the world as it is and, perhaps, how it should be.’ Although the festival could not take place last year, they were back this year!
Simran, Yuuri and Karuna report on their experience, ‘The Battle of Ideas is a weekend festival which encourages public participation and debate, bringing together hundreds of speakers and thousands of attendees to discuss the key issues of our time. This year it took place in Church House, Westminster.
Our experience there was exciting and amazing as we explored many debates about various key issues. These included: “Is it Time to Scrap Exams?”; “What is the Point of Reading Novels in an Era of Netflix?”; and The Rise and Rise of Big Tech” We also participated in a “Balloon Debate: What’s the Greatest Medical Breakthrough?” Our favourite debate of the day was the final one, as audience participation was highly encouraged and we could engage with the panellists whilst asking them challenging questions. The final verdict was that vaccinations are the ultimate greatest medical breakthrough.
This amazing experience gave us the opportunity to meet lots of people who had experience in outstanding fields of work, including careers we are looking to go into in the future. There was a wide range of speakers ranging from authors, university professors, journalists, social commentators and even an advisor to Donald Trump. This has motivated us to contribute as volunteers at the festival next year. As future volunteers, we hope to see even more students from St Augustine’s Priory at the event next year!’
