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School and College Bookings
If you are from a UK school or sixth form college and want to bring a school group to one of our free, public lectures, please get in touch by emailing schools@gresham.ac.uk When there is room, we can usually reserve up to 20 spaces, but occasionally we can do more. Please note tickets are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We also live-stream all our lectures and leave them online so that you can show them again in the classroom, or your students can watch them in their own time
You may be able to recieve a grant towards travel from the City of London. Find out more
Schools-only Lectures
We also broadcast ‘schools-only’ talks on a variety of subjects, mostly in the early afternoon. Below you can read about this term's schools' lectures. To sign up to watch a schools' lecture on live-stream, please email schools@gresham.ac.uk and indicate which lecture(s) you would like – and a link will be sent to you in advance.
You can also learn about future events by joining our schools newsletter.
Autumn 2026
The Design for Life: The Science of Health and Happiness
Professor Dr Ian Mudway • Weds, 23 September 2026 • 2-3pm
For too long, environmental science has been a forensic discipline, documenting the kinetics of ecological decay and the mechanisms of human toxicity. This lecture proposes a radical pivot toward salutogenesis: the rigorous application of systems biology to engineer environments that actively foster human vitality. We are moving beyond the reactive mitigation of pollution and into an era of high-performance design where the goal is to align our civilisation with the evolutionary requirements of the human genome.
Should We Manipulate People’s Emotions?
Professor Robin May • Weds, 14 October 2026 • 2-3pm
Advances in brain imaging, genetics and biochemistry mean that we now know a huge amount about the biology of emotions, from profound grief to ecstatic joy. With that knowledge comes the power to intervene and perhaps the possibility of creating a world free of hatred or depression. But what would that mean for our sense of humanity? Should we do it, even if we could?
Masters of the Cyberverse - Who Owns the Tech You Use, and Who Owns Your Use of it?
Professor Victoria Baines • Weds 18th November 2026 • 2-3pm
Thirty years ago, we had a vision of an Internet that was for everyone and ruled by no-one. Since then, governments have sought to reassert their sovereignty over online spaces, while tech billionaires have amassed global power. What does this mean for your human rights and the rights of others? Who should make the rules? And what might happen next?
A Mathematical Tour of the Orchestra
Professor Sarah Hart • Weds, 2 December 2026 • 2-3pm
Ever since Pythagoras realised that simple numerical relationships make the difference between harmony and dissonance, people have been exploring the deep connections between mathematics and music. In this lecture, we will take a tour of the orchestra through a mathematician’s eyes and see that almost every design aspect of musical instruments, from the uneven spacing of guitar frets to the precise ‘f”-shape’ of the holes on a Stradivarius, is governed by beautiful mathematical laws. We’ll also explore the curious consequences of the mathematical laws of acoustics, including why orchestras need dozens of violins but only three or four flutes, and how gamelan ensembles playing together create a pulsing beat sound that no individual instrument is making.
The Creatures Which Live Inside Us
Professor Matt Higgins • Weds, 9 November 2026 • 2-3pm
Your body is home to a wide range of tiny creatures. Some of these, the pathogens, can make you sick. In contrast, many others are essential for your health, living within you ‘symbiotically’. You provide them with protection while they help you to digest your food and to fight off pathogens. In this lecture, we will meet some of the characters which live inside us and think about how we learn to best live with them.