Dauntsey Sixth Formers and the Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury recently invited 350 Philosophy and Ethics A-level pupils to a conference at Church House, Westminster. The Chaplain went along with five pupils who had worked together to produce a poster on the theme of the conference, "Faith in the World".

These posters were put alongside those from 60 other schools who filled the main Church of England's debating chamber to hear three outstanding talks. The Revd. Richard Coles, a former member of the successful 1980's group, The Communards, is now a regular broadcaster on many popular programmes, from television's Have I Got News For You to Radio 4's Saturday Live. He gave a provocative talk on the relation between the media and the church and how it is important to subvert religious stereotypes. Professor Elaine Graham spoke about the challenge facing faith and society in the next decade, not least those of globalisation and climate change. Finally, Dr. Rowan Williams himself spoke movingly about the need for intelligent and caring people to take on the responsibility of acting on God's behalf in a diverse and challenging world.

The Dauntsey pupils, from amongst the 37 studying Philosophy and Ethics at A-level, and representing many different viewpoints on faith and belief, appreciated the experience of the conference, not least in the final session in which all the members of the panel gave honest and open answers to the many questions asked of them by an intelligent sixth form audience.

Please use this link to read more Academic News and Highlights.

The whole conference was recorded on video and is available to view at the website: www.archbishopofcanterbury.org