Taunton School students organised and hosted a TEDx event recently, delivering a series of insightful talks on scientific and philosophical topics.
TEDx – the ‘x’ meaning it is independently organised – is internationally recognised for its unique, engaging and informative delivery of presentations on a famous “red spot”.
The theme was based around “Perspectives of an Evolving World”, with talks ranging from scientific topics about genetics to philosophical debates about the human exploitation of the planet.
Taunton School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) students decided to hold the event as a key part of their study, making preparations months in advance. Year 12 student Lauren Berridge, a boarding IB student said that: “Inviting the speakers was a daunting task, as we wanted to ensure the speeches would cover a range of different topics, as well as having both students and staff participating.”
The talks were diverse, including student Rina Bogdanovic’s “Sex chromosomes: Why have a Y?” to Deputy Head Damian Henderson’s “Education for the 22nd Century”, with each speaker demonstrating their true passion for their subject.
Lauren added: “Each of the speakers invested their time and effort into polishing their talks, and had great courage to deliver ideas worth spreading. It is not an easy challenge to speak for around 10 minutes to a full house as well as four cameras, not to mention with a beaming spotlight, but everyone rose to the occasion and performed impressively.”
It is not the first time that Taunton School has had the opportunity to host a TEDx event; the last time was in October 2017 and was similarly well-attended and highly successful, with all talks being approved by TED to appear on their YouTube site.
