Working with Hay Literary Festival

All festivals and cultural events have a commitment to education, often linked to grant funding. Partnerships can provide huge opportunities for schools and colleges located in their proximity.

Some years ago Hereford Sixth Form College formed a partnership with the Hay Festival which has resulted in a huge bank of resources freely available to students online. Hay Levels are short 5-15 minute films by some of the world’s greatest academics which aim to inspire, encourage and support current A level students. Designed in collaboration with Peter Florence, Founder and Director of the Hay Festival, the original inspiration for the project came from a ride to Hay from Hereford when Professor Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics and the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, was given a lift by Jonathan Godfrey, then Principal of HSFC, and a group of students. The journey became a tutorial on maths for the lucky students and Jonathan and Peter determined to make the experience available to as many students as possible in a wide range of A level subjects.

Discussing the launch of the programme, Marcus du Sautoy (pictured above with Alaric Stephen, a maths teacher at Hereford, and some of his students) said: ‘Last year I was in the back of a minibus with a bunch of sixth formers. This year it’s great to have the chance to reach all those kids preparing for A levels and help them to put their ideas in a wider picture.’ Peter Florence, in turn, said: ’We are deeply grateful to our partner universities and specifically to these  fabulous academics such as Richard Dawkins, Germaine Greer, Sarah Churchwell, Tristram Hunt and Marcus du Sautoy. We were lucky to have advice on content from staff at Hereford Sixth Form College, one of the best non-selective sixth form colleges in the country.’ Nearly 15,000 people have watched the introductory video below by current Hereford student Lily Stubley-Adje and over one hundred videos have been produced for students with thousands of total hits.

The Hay Festival in May this year was, for obvious reasons, an online digital event which attracted thousands of subscribers. Hay has always run a smaller Winter Festival and this year the digital series of talks and discussions is to take place from 26^th – 29^th of November. All sessions are free and attendance can be booked online here. 

Jonathan Godfrey is the former principal of Hereford Sixth Form College, and now serves as clerk to the Heart of Mercia Trust, which includes Hereford Sixth Form College and Worcester Sixth Form College.