The Octagon Academic Society met once again for its Annual Dinner on Thursday 19th March in Top School Hall. As has come to be tradition, the Catering Department outdid themselves by putting on a splendid French-inspired menu for the 110 guests who joined in the evening.
Octagon members were joined by parents, staff and special guests to enjoy an evening of convivial company sprinkled with a good helping of intellectual curiosity. Among the staff present were a number of teachers who had been nominated by Octagon pupils because of their inspiring teaching, showing that the ethos of the Society is upheld in regular classroom lessons as well as in its lunchtime group sessions.
Our Guest of Honour was Professor John Powell, Professor of Digital Health at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford. He is a Senior Investigator at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NICE), specialising in studying healthcare in the digital age, looking particularly at how AI can be harnessed to make a real difference in public healthcare. He encouraged pupils to follow their own intellectual curiosity to find a path in adult life which will suit them best, explaining that quite often, the best-laid plans do not always turn out in the way we expect. Professor Powell gave a fascinating insight into how the meeting point of technology and medicine is a rapidly expanding field, showing us how artificial intelligence may indeed be used to help with GP consultations, important diagnoses or even in the burgeoning (but little heard of) area of “Death Tech”.
The outgoing President of Octagon, Luke Smith, gave an excellent Vote of Thanks, during the course of which he was able to encourage and inspire the younger members to make the most of the opportunities offered by the Society.
The evening also provided the opportunity to reflect on an excellent year in the School’s academic pursuits, not least of which the impressive performances of various general knowledge quiz teams in Schools Challenge. Special Achievement Awards were made to James, Millie and this year’s Captain of Quizzing, Amelie: all three of whom have loyally represented the School in competitions since the 1st Form.
The Top Table was also joined by the first President of Octagon in the modern era, Miss Philippa Lane. A few seats further down was the surprised, but very deserving, recipient of the title of next year’s President, Emily.
Find out more about the Octagon Academic Society with Sixth Form members, Emily and Luke: