TEDxAlleyns School Youth

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Abigail Lau

  Pupil, Year 9

  At any given time, Abigail Lau can be found anywhere: from astronomy to molecular gastronomy, building robots and rockets, debating in Model United Nations and biomedical society, the list goes on! Keen to bring attention to the growing problem of myopia, Abigail Lau talks about why this is urgent and how a small lifestyle choice of bringing everyday "indoors" activities outdoors can greatly help young people.

• Alex Smith

  Staff, Assistant Head

  Alex Smith is a Assistant Head, Head of Upper School at Alleyn's. A proud Scouser, her talk explores the importance of connecting with place in maintaining mental wellbeing and a sense of belonging.

• Anna McKay

  Staff, Maths Teacher

  Does it really take a village to raise a child? Drawing on personal experience, Anna McKay dives into what the enduring phrase ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ means in today’s fragmented, highly digital world. She will challenges us to reconsider how we can all embrace our roles in the different ‘villages’ in which we live.

• Aurora Aiyar

  Pupil, Year 9

  Aurora Aiyar explores the importance of reading in the lives of young people, and reflects on the impact that books and the characters within them have made on how she sees the world today.

• Charlotte W

  Pupil, Junior School

  Charlotte Whittaker will share smart ways to stay healthy and rethink our daily habits as she speaks about diabetes and how we can help prevent it.

• Chloë Brooks

  Pupil, Year 9

  Exploring the connection and communication that occurs in a forest, Chloë Brooks's talk will highlight the speech of trees as they talk to us and themselves.

• Claire Akinronbi

  Pupil, Year 13

  Claire Akinronbi's talk exposes how “neutral” medical devices and AI can overlook millions of people, not by glitch, but by design. Discover how reimagining technology with inclusion at its core can save lives and break the illusion that comfort means safety.

• Clara Hebblethwaite

  Pupil, Year 13

  Exploring the truth behind the impact of bilingualism on brain development, Clara Hebblethwaite will discuss the differing effects of speaking multiple languages on the brain throughout a lifespan.

• Daniya Ahmed

  Student

  Venturing into the world of stories, Daniya Ahmed will bring focus to the silent connections with those we may never meet, exploring how memory shapes identity and weaving together the threads that anchor us to our shared humanity.

• Demian Krykun

  Pupil, Year 8

  Demian Krykun will reveal the surprising superpowers of a Vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian shirt, and show how something as simple as clothing can connect us to our roots, heritage, and even strangers around the world.

• Diana Chorna

  Pupil, Year 12

  Drawing on real-world examples from NASA to CERN, Diana Chorna shows how ambitious scientific projects produce unplanned discoveries, urging more young people — especially women — to pursue STEM and drive the next wave of innovation.

• Gina Visram

  Staff, Head of Careers

  Gina Visram is a career coach and content creator. She has spent 14+ years making the journey from education to employment and/or entrepreneurship less overwhelming and scary and more fun and optimistic for students and graduates. She will explore how small talk leads to big breaks.

• Guy Collins-Down

  Staff, Chief Operating Officer

  With over 20 years of educational environmental design theory, Guy Collins-Down presents a future for connected school environments through smart technology, its opportunities to bring marginal gains but also the potential pitfalls around our personal data.

• Hannah Chadwick-Jones

  Pupil, Year 13

  Hannah Chadwick-Jones will share her passion for Kodaly music education and how this simple yet effective form of teaching can transform music in the UK, giving us all a common means of communication.

• Ihsan Mohamed

  Student

  Ihsan Mohamed will weave a narrative about the significance of cultural clothing and its history. She encourages you to view clothing as more than fashion, but as a profound expression of cultural identity.

• Izzy W

  Pupil, Year 7

  The grass is green and that’s a FACT. But how we see green: that’s shaped by our eyes, brains and language. Some might see red, others green. Izzy W's talk explores this strange fact Your red could be my blue and we might never know.

• Jane Lunnon

  Head, Alleyn's School

  Jane Lunnon is Head of Alleyn’s School and heads up the Alleyn’s Schools Group, founder of the Coalition for Youth Mental Health and was the Tatler Head of the Year 2020. She also wrote two books on independent education and is an English teacher, fascinated by the origins of language and its power to connect us all - which her well-weighed words will do today.

• Madeleine Harrison-Bell

  Alumna

  Maddie Harrison-Bell is an MA English Literature graduate exploring digital identity, adaptation, and selfhood through William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’. Speaking from South Africa, she examines how performance and technology shape our connections with each other in today’s age.

• Matilda Mellor

  Pupil, Year 13

  Matilda Mellor discusses the value of engaging with traditional and difficult poetry outside of the classroom, using it to better understand your own sense of self, as well as finding the joy of reading poetry which you don't understand.

• Max Lau

  Pupil, Year 9

  Max Lau has a deep interest in all things STEM, driven by his love of the satisfying nature of discovering beauty in new concepts. As sharing is an important aspect of being a connected community, his talk explores how fairness can be optimised using fair division mathematics.

• Max Rovny

  Pupil, Year 13

  Max Rovny will be giving an exciting talk looking into whether space elevators can really exist, how they would work and what people have actually done about it.

• Maxim Alexandre

  Pupil, Year 11

  In a time when empathy appears to be undervalued, Maxim Alexandre looks to highlight its central importance for fostering connections and building a better future.

• Mohit Aiyar

  Parent

  As societies become ever more pluralistic, Mohit Aiyar draws on personal experience while contemplating the meaning of culture and the importance of reflection and nuance in addressing the challenge of passing this heritage onto his children.

• Naia Kanani-Ferdinand

  Pupil, Year 9

  Naia Kanani-Ferdinand is thirteen and part of a line of four generations of living female ritual-makers. Speaking with her mum, Nikita Kanani, she shows how playful traditions create connection and belonging, helping us understand who we are and become.

• Nikita Kanani

  Parent

  Nikita Kanani is a GP and national health leader. In her talk with her daughter, Naia, she explores how heritage and everyday rituals shape identity, belonging, and the stories we pass to future generations.

• Phoebe Hatt

  Pupil, Year 11

  Taking a domestic approach to connection, Phoebe Hatt explores how sewing has shaped our past, present, and future in a talk that compels us to consider the impact that a simple needle and thread have had on our world.

• Richard Yu

  Pupil, Year 13

  Richard Yu's talk explores how AI challenges originality while opening space for entrepreneurial creativity. By reframing discomfort as opportunity, he argues that true innovation comes not from invention alone but from transforming uncertainty into ventures that reshape industries and culture.

• Rosa Minghella

  Pupil, Year 12

  Through the exploration of interesting fonts, Rosa Minghella aims to expose the overlooked power of typefaces, and delve into their potential applications so that we can take control of the words we read.

• Sarah Cartwright-Styles

  Headteacher, Alleyn's Hampstead Junior and Nursery

  As a Submarine Controller in the Maritime Reserve and an experienced Headteacher, Sarah Cartwright-Styles blends discipline and vision. Her story, from Junior Rate to leader, embodies resilience and service, inspiring future generations to lead with integrity and heart.

• Stuart Lawrence

  Parent

  Stuart Lawrence, motivational speaker and youth engagement specialist, advocates diversity, inclusion, and change. With over 20 years’ experience in education, community coaching, and public speaking, he continues his brother Stephen’s legacy, inspiring young people to achieve. His message today is simple: every one of us can be a legend, not through fame or recognition, but by helping one person every day — by choosing gratitude, by choosing hope.

• Thea Braithwaite

  Pupil, Junior School

  Thea Braithwaite will explore how sport can build friendships, teamwork, and unity. With her passion for sports, she’ll show us how it brings people together - on and off the field.

• Thomas Mackenzie-Smith

  Pupil, Junior School

  Thomas Mackenzie Smith will challenge you to think differently about what’s on your plate with his idea that everyone in the UK should become vegetarian.

• Will Howell-Harte

  Staff, Director of Pastoral Education and Research

  Will Howell-Harte is a teacher and pastoral leader at Alleyn's School. His pastoral work includes heading-up the PSHE programme, the Gender 25 project, facilitating student-led initiatives like Healthy Leaders and Period Chapter as well as co-developing AEQ, an experience-enriching curriculum for young people. His talk challenges the strictures of ‘man-code’ and explores how we can foster relationally intelligent and emotionally literate young men.