Professor McGrath gained first class honours from Oxford University in Chemistry and first class honours in Theology. He holds an Oxford DPhil for his research in Molecular Biology and a DD from Oxford University’s Faculty of Theology for his work in Historical and Systematic Theology. A former atheist, he has established a reputation as one of the leading apologists for Christianity. Author of Christian Theology, Wiley-Blackwell, Theology: the Basics, Blackwell and The Dawkins Delusion, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Professor McGrath is a modern day ‘great thinker’ and his work is a fundamental part of A level study.

Dr. Steven Shakespeare is a senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool Hope. He has a PhD from Cambridge and is widely published with books such as Radical Orthodoxy: A Critical Introduction (SPCK, 2007); and Derrida and Theology (T & T Clark, 2009). His current interests include the philosophical importance of the boundaries drawn between human and animal, machine and organism, flesh and spirit. He has published on transhumanism, black metal theory, philosophy of religion.

He is a fellow of the prestigious Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and Patron of the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals.

After being awarded a starred Double First Class Honours Degree from Oxford Tom completed his Phd at Cambridge. He has taught at Manchester Grammar school but is now a university lecturer and researcher with a commitment to making his work accessible to young people. He has a weekly slot on radio 4 and holds various political offices at local, regional and national levels with a general focus on education policy. He is widely regarded as a ‘rising star’.

PROFESSOR KEITH WARD is Regius Professor Emeritus of Divinity at Oxford and was Professor of the History and Philosophy of Religion at King’s College, London. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a member of the Executive Council of the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

DR. JOHN FRYE is chief examiner for the Cambridge Pre-U Philosophy paper and principle examiner for A level. In addition he is the chairman of the Morris Minor club, has a black belt in Karate, plays concert standard violin and is currently working on his first Science Fiction novel. He has an awesome intellect and a very engaging wit. He is well known for offering academic lectures which never fail to entertain and inform.

Previously the Junior Research Fellow in Philosophy at Queen’s College, Oxford, Dr Stephen Law is now the Provost of the Centre for Enquiry UK, and Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London. He is the editor of the Royal Institute of Philosophy Journal Think, and has published a wide range of literature in Philosophy, and has a gift for producing work that is both academic and popular.

Dr. Julian Baggini is one of Britain’s foremost philosophers and a highly respected international academic. He is an energetic and enthusiastic lecturer who works widely with sixth form groups where he is able to make his work colourful, visual and accessible to students. He lectures internationally and is widely published in the field. In addition he edits the Philosophy Magazine.

Dr. Tim Mawson was educated at St Peter’s College and then The Queen’s College in Oxford. He held a number of temporary lectureships at other Oxford colleges before returning to St Peter’s in 1998, where he is now one of two Philosophy Fellows. He is currently Secretary to the British Society for the Philosophy of Religion. Tim will be lecturing for Richard Huish student conferences in the next academic year.

Dr. Mark Lewney, the Rock Doctor, is a guitar physicist. He has appeared on Radio 4’s Material World, on BBC’s Newsnight and on BBC’s Xchange! as well as on the Money Programme. He lectures around the UK, being introduced as a cross between Einstein and Jimi Hendrix. Mark has conducted a tour for the Institute of Physics, featured in the Guardian and Physics World and also performed at the Tokyo International Science Festival.

“A cross between Einstein and Jimi Hendrix”

“A gust of fresh air” Times Higher Education Supplement

Dr Andrew Pinsent is project leader on a $2.5M project creating teaching resources for schools. He is a popular speaker and regularly invited into schools. He is a fomer particle physicist at CERN, being a named author on thirty-one papers of the DELPHI experiment and a current member of the United Kingdom Institute of Physics. Dr Pinsent has a second doctorate in Philosophy, a degree in Theology, and is currently the Research Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, a Research Fellow of Harris-Manchester College and a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University.

https://www.ianramseycentre.info/blog/schools/2017-2018.html

The late Roger Scruton was a philosopher and public commentator. He was widely published with popular works such ‘I Drink Therefore I am’; ‘A Philosopher’s Guide to Wine’ and ‘The Uses of Pessimism’. As a political and cultural commentator he was often interviewed on TV and was famously outspoken with views which never failed to challenge public perceptions. He was a fellow of both the Royal Society of Literature and of the British Academy and a visiting professor at the University of St Andrews and Oxford University. Professor Scruton had an enduring interest in gifted education and ran an exclusive ‘conversation’ group for students who really want to think, and not just to pass exams, at Oxford University. He was patron of the UK Philosothon movement where students still meet to have conversations about big ideas.

“There are few more valuable thinkers in Britain – or indeed, the world – today.” – Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times.

Professor Raymond Tallis was identified by the Economist magazine as one of the world’s leading polymaths. He began his academic life at Oxford University, where he studied Medicine, before working as a physician and clinical scientist. He is now a full-time writer with 23, mainly philosophy, books to his name; a poet, with 3 published volumes; and a novelist. A recent work ‘Aping Mankind: Neuromania, Darwinitis and the Misrepresentation of Humanity’ (2011) was a Guardian Book of the Year. Professor Tallis is also a widely respected academic and cultural critic with over two hundred scientific articles and in addition many pieces published in magazines and newspapers such as Prospect and The Times Literary Supplement. He is a well known humanist, of great intellectual pedigree, famous for his engaging and inspiring talks. This is an opportunity not to be missed by all who are serious about understanding and cultivating gifted students in our schools.

“One of the most intriguing figures in the current intellectual scene.” – The Times Higher Education Supplement

Writer and author of ‘Philosophical Investigations’ website speaks at Academy Conference Teacher event.

Brian Poxton, Wells Cathedral School, teacher trainer in Australia, participates in discussion at Academy Conferences Teacher event.

Daphne Hampson is Professor Emerita of Divinity at the University of St Andrew’s, an Associate of the Department of Theology and Religion at Oxford University, and a Life Member at Clare College, Cambridge. She has published widely on Post-Christian thought with an emphasis on feminist criticism, combining her commitment to theological realism with an ethical critique of Christian mythology. Her latest work focuses on the role of religion in contemporary Western society, the underrepresented field of Lutheran thought, and an introductory exposition on the work of Kierkegaard.

Professor Johannes Zachhuber is an historical and systematic theologian specialising in the Eastern Patristic tradition of theology, and modern theology from the Reformation to the present. His recent published works include comprehensive treatments of 19th Century German thought in relation to theology, philosophy, and individuality. He supervises a wide range of graduate research projects at Oxford University.

is an internationally recognised speaker, author, educator and performance coach for elite athletes.

Jeffrey has organised and lectured at the annual ‘Gifted & Talented’ student conferences for senior students throughout Australia and New Zealand, which since 2010 has provided over 15,000 gifted students with a stimulating day of extension thinking activities. He has also lectured at the Gifted & Talented study days for senior students in Oxford, Cambridge, London and in other major centres throughout the UK.

A prolific and popular writer, Jeffrey has written 11 books, including the best selling ‘Sportsmind – An Athlete’s Guide to Super-performance through Mental & Emotional Training’, and ‘Champion Thoughts, Champion Feelings’, and has contributed informative articles to numerous sports magazines and newspapers including Australian Tennis, Golf Australia, Pistol Australia, Blitz, Sports Coach, Ultrafit and many others.

He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Masters Degree with Honours in Social Science, as well as educational qualifications from both Melbourne University and the University of New England. He is a NLP Master Practitioner, and his landmark thesis involving 1,158 athletes from 32 different sports established the effectiveness of NLP techniques for mental skills training in sport, and he was among the first trainers in the world to adapt and apply NLP methodology to sports performance enhancement.