Inspirational Speakers at TGGS

Kevin Foster MP
Kevin Foster, Conservative MP for Torbay since 2015, and currently Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safe and Legal Migration under Home Secretary Priti Patel, met with a group of over 50 students from the Sixth Form, Year 11 and Year 10. He answered a range of questions related to his ministerial role, his voting history, and current issues and policies on migration and resettlement.

Anthony Mangnall MP
Anthony Mangnall, Conservative MP for Totnes and South Devon since 2019, and a member of international trade committee, met with Politics students and gave a talk on his current role and his involvement in the Commons. He answered a range of questions about themes such as Covid policy, a conversion therapy ban, and the current Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. 

Professor Michael Benton 
Speaking at the first annual Christmas Science Lecture at TGGS, Professor Benton (Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Bristol)was able to show through his talk on "The Permian-Triassic hyperthermal crisis: how heat kills" how we already know what the dangers are of a warming climate, as this has happened many times in the past, with the most extreme of these being at the Permian-Triassic boundary.

Alumnae Visit 
For an 'In Conversation’ assembly, two former TGGS students now studying at Cambridge University joined to reflect on their time at TGGS and tell us about their life journey so far, offering some great advice along the way!

Charles Courtenay, Earl of Devon 
The Earl spoke to Politics students about becoming a peer and the history of the House of Lords. His account of parliament covered the movement of the house from Shrewsbury to Westminster, and the history of the Earldom of Devon, which originated from the Saxon period, through the Norman invasion in 1066 and how the title continues today. The Earl also gave us some insight into topics Year 12 and 13 students are studying, such as the influence of the National Farmers Union on the Environmental Bill the Lords have recently passed, linking to the topic of Pressure Groups.

Professor Ian Stewart MBE FGS FRSE
A Scottish geologist and broadcaster, UNESCO Chair in Geoscience and Society, and Professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth. He is a regular visitor to the school enthusing our students about all aspects of Geoscience.

Anne-Marie Morris MP
The MP for Teignmouth took questions from our Eco-group. On their behalf she raised a question at PM Questions in Parliament about how the government was going to give under-18s a voice in the climate change debate.

Baroness Butler-Sloss
The first female Lord Justice of Appeal and previously the highest ranking judge in the UK. She gave the students an insight into her life & career and the work of the House of Lords.

Dame Slingo DBE FRS
British meterologist and climate scientist who was the Chief Scientist at the Met office. As well as clarifying the link between human activity and climate change, she outlined how it is possible to have a high flying career as well as a family.

Baroness Watkins of Tavistock
Professor of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, she came in to talk to our politics students and to outline the work of the House of Lords.

Carleen Kelemen OBE
Business woman and Chair of the Institute of Directors for Devon and Cornwall. She came in to teach leadership skills with a focus on networking.

The Rt Honourable Nick Gibb MP
The Minister of State for Education came in to find out more about our Ten Habits curriculum.

Kevin Foster MP
The MP for Torbay visits regularly to talk to our politics students and Eco-Group.

The Rt Honourable Andrea Leadsom MP
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Six of our girls were given 30 minutes with the Secretary of State in Committee Room Nine in the Houses of Parliament to quiz her on the governments' green policies and to put forward their proposal for a students’ climate summit.

Professor Howard Falcon-Lang
Plant Palaeobiology Research Group - Department of Earth Sciences Royal Holloway. Gave a talk to students looking at Climate Change in the past, using the Cretaceous Greenhouse World as a proxy for our current climate crisis.

Professor Christopher John Lintott FRAS
A British astrophysicist, author and broadcaster. He is a Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. Proessor Lintott was invited by June Ilyas (Year 13 student) to talk to us about observing space and inspired us to take part in some of his science projects like Galaxy Zoo.

Dr Helen Mason OBE
A British theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge. She talked to students about her work on Solar Physics and light as part of a physics challenge day.

Professor Danny Dorling
Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography Oxford. He as published many of books on inequalities in Britain, such as 'Inequality and the 1%', and helped to create the Worldmapper project, used by geographers across the globe. Professor Dorling gave us a lecture on the impact of inequality on politics in comparison to equality in Finland.

Steve Darling Lib Dem Councillor and Torbay Council Leader
Lib Dem Councillor and Torbay Council Leader Steve Darling visited and spoke very engagingly about the work of a council and of the challenges facing Torbay. In a lively Q&A session students also explored issues including Torbay’s reaction to asylum seekers, Lib Dem views of electoral reform and how councils relate to the Westminster government.

Catherine Omanyu MP and Headteacher
Catherine, MP and Head teacher from our partner school in Kenya came to celebrate 20 years of support via fund raising which has supported the education of over 2000 students through the doors of the academy since it opened.. She talked to groups ranging from year 12 politics students about politics in Kenya and how their system works though to talks to year 7 geography students about the countries culture.

Ben Bradshaw MP
Year 12 Politics students visited Exeter University to take part in a Politics event in which Ben Bradshaw spoke and answered questions in a lively discussion period.

Dr Peter Rowley
Dr Rowley delivered the second annual Christmas Earth Science Lecture at TGGS. Dr Rowley, a physical volcanologist at the University of Bristol, with interests in experimental modelling of a range of volcanic processes. spoke about the monitoring and prediction of volcanic eruptions and how we can work towards improved hazard modelling in active volcanic areas, and in improved interpretations of activity in the geological record.

Dr Lidia Lonergan

Dr Lonergan - Reader (Associate Professor) in Geotectonics at Imperial College delivered a fantastic workshop to GCSE Geology students on the interpretation of the tectonic history of areas by using photographs. The workshop allowed students to develop their understanding before they undertook their own fieldwork in the north Cornwall area.

Dr Boris Behncke
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia) in Sicily at the Etna Volcano Observatory in Catania. Dr Behncke gave students an oversight of the eruptive history of Mount Etna, combined with the issues associated with forecasting accurately the hazards presented by this wonderful volcano.

Dr Dave McGarvie
Honorary Researcher at Lancaster University is a Volcanologist working on volcano-ice interactions in Iceland and Chile. Dr McGarvie was able to discuss with students the volcanic hazards that exist in Iceland and was able to develop their understanding of the hazards associated with volcanoes being erupted into ice as shown by the recent activity in Iceland.

Dr Stefano Solarino
Senior Researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia) in Genoa, Italy. Dr Solarino delivered a workshop to the students regarding the relationship between hazard and risk. An expert in his field, Dr Solarino, Is a seismologist studying seismotectonics (that is, the relationships between earthquakes and faults) of North-Western Italy. He is also interested in Geoynamics and he has conducted numerous studies of seismic tomography, a technique that applies a method very similar to that of medical tomography to study the interior of the Earth, to a depth that normal survey techniques do not reach!