Former prime minister speaks to Ormiston Forge Academy students

  7 May, 2021

David Cameron Green Skills Week talk

Students at Ormiston Forge Academy benefitted from an exclusive Green Skills Week talk with David Cameron this week.

Organised by youth social mobility charity Speakers for Schools, the charity aimed at ending educational inequality, the interactive talk was broadcasted virtually to over 1,300 students in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12. Throughout the session, Mr Cameron shared his insights on climate change, the environment and green skills.

Mr Cameron served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from May 2010 until July 2016, leading first a Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition, and from May 2015, a Conservative majority government. He was elected leader of the Conservative Party in December 2005 and held this position for over 10 years.

Among his current roles, Mr Cameron serves as president of Alzheimer’s Research UK; chair of patrons at National Citizen Service and having chaired the LSE-Oxford Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development, he continues to promote international development by co-chairing the Council on State Fragility and serving on the board of the ONE campaign.

Students were keen to ask questions of Mr Cameron:

  • Hannah in year 8 asked: “What would you say to someone who wants to become a climate change activist but they are nervous about how people would react to them?”
  • Sia in year 7 asked: “What decision have you made about changing the way you live?”
  • Will in year 9 asked: “In your opinion, what are the top five major environmental problems or issues of today?”

Principal, Dr Lisa Mason, said: “As well as delivering a fantastic talk on the environment, Mr Cameron spent over 30 minutes answering questions from our students about the environment. It’s hard to put into words what an incredible opportunity and what a huge impact that will have on our students. It’s a day they will not forget and we are grateful to Mr Cameron for his time and effort in speaking to us.

“We would also like to thank Speakers for Schools for their great work nationally in the education sector – we’ve benefited from a number of talks now and they have all had a positive impact on our young people.”

The talk represents one of many facilitated by Speakers for Schools. Founded in 2010 by ITV political editor Robert Peston and supported by the Law Family Charitable Foundation, the charity aims to level the playing field by giving young people access to the same networks as the top fee-paying schools, through inspirational talks and work placements.

Chief executive officer of Speakers for Schools, Jason Elsom commented: “We were delighted that David Cameron was able to join us in supporting over 1,300 young people in considering their future in a greener world. Inspirational talks are an important tool in opening the minds of young people to the opportunities ahead of them. Speakers for Schools is fortunate that so many eminent leaders have connected with our mission to support over 1 million young people in the past decade.”


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