The start of the academic year marks the return of our Senior Societies talks. These sessions offer students the opportunity to hear directly from different figures across a range of fields and help set an aspirational tone for the year ahead.
The first speaker in this year’s series was Sir Richard Heaton, Warden of Robinson College, Cambridge. He was interviewed by a Year 13 student, Katie and spoke about the many challenges he faced during his career in the civil service, where he focused on justice and constitutional affairs. From 2015 to 2020, he served as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Clerk of the Crown, following a previous post as Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office.
Students were highly engaged and asked a wide range of questions, both political and general. One student raised the issue of voting rights, expressing the view that 16-year-olds might not be well informed enough to vote. Sir Richard acknowledged that argument, though observing that incomplete knowledge and a lack of information could be found in any age group of the population.
He also spoke about the importance of working in an environment that reflects one’s own values, emphasising that this alignment can be key to long term fulfilment and purpose in a career.
He concluded the session with a piece of advice for students: “Your job is to create the best version of yourself. Find the thing that’s uniquely you and do it to the best of your ability.”
It was an inspiring start to what promises to be a strong line up of speakers for the year ahead.
