A Curious Career, 16-18 age range
This is a talk for lower and upper sixth formers called A Curious Career, which is my journey from accountant to magician (I wanted to call it by the clever title of ‘from Ledger to Legerdemain’ but don’t think many would have got the references).
I was going to sum up the talk, but this kind endorsement from a teacher at the Royal Grammar School has précised it much better than I could (that’s why you are teachers; and I’m not!).
As the first Sixth Form lecture of the academic year, this first talk is vitally important in setting the tone for the rest of the year. Assembly fatigue can easily set in among young boys and there can a certain cynicism and apathy about attendance at yet another talk. In this light, A Curious Career could not have been more inspirational. To combine sensible, constructive advice on university and careers with humour and the eagerly-anticipated magic tricks ensured the audience was equally informed and entertained. Such advice was all the more effective coming from someone with high academic ambition and a successful Oxbridge experience, someone the boys could aspire to and relate to. The boys were genuinely effusive in their praise; my only concern is that their expectations of the assemblies are now so inflated that you will be a hard act to follow!
Some of the schools I've done this talk for are Bryanston, Edinburgh Academy, Lancing, Queen Ann, Caversham, Uppingham and Whitgift.