Futurescope was born in the 2016/17 academic year. The brainchild of Jake Lynn, who at the time was Head of Media Studies at Alice Smith, Futurescope was initially a teaching and learning project wherein students from Years 10-13 volunteered to research, prepare and deliver a TED-style talk of around ten minutes on a topic of their choice.
Although staff were available for students throughout the process, Futurescope prioritised and developed independent learning for participants, who as the sole experts in their chosen topic were almost entirely responsible for constructing a talk that would be at once informative and engaging for an audience of fellow students and select adults.
The first Futurescope in February 2017 showed everyone in the Alice Smith community that the event was so much more than an isolated teaching and learning project. Not only was the audience dumbstruck by the quality and variety of talks, the speakers themselves were clearly empowered by the independence and public speaking engendered by the project.
Thus Futurescope lived on following Jake's departure at the end of that academic year, and following his model it continued unabated, with the only alteration being opening up the process to Year 9 students also. This decision was not regretted, as many Year 9s have since stepped up to talk about topics they are passionate about.
As Futurescope continues to develop at the Alice Smith school, we take pride in how such an event not only develops our students into lovers of learning, but also further demonstrates that school is about far more than exams and homework.
The legacy of Futurescope continues to grow, and this website exists to immortalise its myriad speakers.
Although staff were available for students throughout the process, Futurescope prioritised and developed independent learning for participants, who as the sole experts in their chosen topic were almost entirely responsible for constructing a talk that would be at once informative and engaging for an audience of fellow students and select adults.
The first Futurescope in February 2017 showed everyone in the Alice Smith community that the event was so much more than an isolated teaching and learning project. Not only was the audience dumbstruck by the quality and variety of talks, the speakers themselves were clearly empowered by the independence and public speaking engendered by the project.
Thus Futurescope lived on following Jake's departure at the end of that academic year, and following his model it continued unabated, with the only alteration being opening up the process to Year 9 students also. This decision was not regretted, as many Year 9s have since stepped up to talk about topics they are passionate about.
As Futurescope continues to develop at the Alice Smith school, we take pride in how such an event not only develops our students into lovers of learning, but also further demonstrates that school is about far more than exams and homework.
The legacy of Futurescope continues to grow, and this website exists to immortalise its myriad speakers.
Please use the navigation buttons at the top to view the talks from previous Futurescope events.