Countdown to DarwIN Festival

We are looking forward to this year’s 20^th edition of the town’s DarwIN Festival, celebrating the life, work and legacy of Shrewsbury’s greatest son. 

There are over thirty events taking place from the 5th to 12th of February, culminating with the birthday toast to raise a glass in Charles Darwin's honour. 

Among the many highlights will be a talk on the 5^th February given by former Shrewsbury Headmaster Ted Maidment at the Darwin family home on The Mount about the life and music of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams – a member of the Darwin-Wedgwood family. This will be accompanied by music from John Moore on piano, former Director of Music at the School, and Alex Postlethwaite on the violin.   

On Wednesday 8^th February the School will open the Moser Library where Dr Robin Brooke-Smith and Naomi Nicholas will host a talk on ‘Darwin: From Shrewsbury Schoolboy to International Scientific Super Star’ with an opportunity to see some of the School’s Darwinalia.

On Thursday 9^th February the School will welcome Jane Still and Neil Ingram to Shrewsbury, first of all to deliver a masterclass to our A Level Biologists, and then to give a lecture – open to the public and other schools – on ‘Darwin for 21^st Century Thinking’ - looking at Darwin’s theories and their relevance to the contemporary scientific world.

The founder of the festival - local author, presenter and Darwin expert, Jon King - has just published a book on Darwin’s formative years in Shropshire entitled ‘The Making of a Marvellous Mind’,  a signed copy of which is now in the School Library. 

During the festival there will be guided tours for the public wishing to visit Darwin’s birthplace and family home on the Mount, including a rare opportunity to explore the surviving gardens – a place that he loved and inspired him, his playground and classroom.

To coincide with the DarwIN Festival this year, once again the School is offering a series of new lectures and resources for schools, both in the local area and more widely via Expert Ed enabling classes to join virtually.  Talks on Darwin and related evolutionary science will be given by Dr Currie-Jordan on bloodsucking mosquitoes, Dr Case on the voyage of the Beagle, Mr Exham on human anatomy and former colleague Mrs Sara Fletcher on bees. Schools wishing to enquire further about this programme are welcome to contact Stuart Cowper at [email protected] for more information. 

Details of the rich and varied programme can be found here where links to book tickets can also be found.