Hay Levels Live
Calling all A Level students: ask the experts at Hay Festival 2016
Got a tricky question about an A Level subject? Hay Festival (26 May – 5 June) is here to help this half-term. Hay Levels Live is a new initiative offering Sixth Form students the chance to quiz distinguished speakers live at Hay Festival 2016 and online.
Questions on physics, maths, biology, Tudor history, and Shakespeare, can be submitted online now at the Hay Levels Live website or through Twitter using @HayFestival #HayLevels, before the experts take to the stage at Hay Festival 2016 to offer their answers.
Kicking off on Friday 27 May, the 50 minute discussions will be structured around questions submitted from students before and during the event. The sessions are led by some of the world’s greatest teachers including: James Shapiro, Jerry Brotton, Marcus du Sautoy, Monica Grady, John Mullan, Hannah Critchlow, Steve Jones, Daniel Davis and many more.
Students and teachers can join the audience live on site in the festival’s new education hub, Hay Compass, or by tuning into the live online stream and joining the conversation on social media (@HayFestival #HayLevels).
Hay Levels Live – broadcast schedule
Friday 27 May – PHYSICS @ 2.30pm
Host: Ben Miller (quantum physicist and star of Armstrong & Miller), with Monica Grady (Professor of Planetary and Space Science, Open University) and Emily Grossman (Science broadcaster) and Heather Lacy (Analytical Engineer from Jaguar Land Rover)
Saturday 28 May - SHAKESPEARE @ 5.30pm
Host: Clemency Burton-Hill, with James Shapiro (Professor of English, Columbia), John Mullan (Professor of English, UCL), Jerry Brotton (Professor of Renaissance Studies, Queen Mary, University of London)
Sunday 29 May – MATHS @ 11.30am
Marcus du Sautoy, Simonyii Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, Oxford
Monday 30 May – BIOLOGY @11.30am
Host: Daniel Davis (Professor of Genetics, Manchester University), Steve Jones (Professor of Genetics, UCL) Hannah Critchlow (Cambridge University) and Kat Arney
Tuesday 31 May – TUDOR HISTORY @ 5.30pm
Host: SJ Parris (historian and broadcaster), with Jerry Brotton (Professor of Renaissance Studies, Queen Mary, University of London) and John Guy(Professor of History (Cambridge)
““The 19 Tata group companies in the UK cover everything from cars to salt and from tea to IT, employing thousands of people. Education is not only the mark of a successful and civilised society – which is why we think the Hay Festival is so important – but it is also a passport to the high quality jobs, including in the sciences, IT and engineering, that a modern economy, including our companies, offer across the UK.
“That’s why we are proud to partner with Hay Levels Live. The event will give students from all over the UK the chance to ask questions of some of the most respected names in science, maths, engineering and the humanities – and, I hope, spice up the final stages of their exam revision.”
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Hay Levels Live is the latest in a series of new developments for young people at Hay Festival:
A new (inflatable!) space on site – Hay Compass – is dedicated to students and young people, designed to offer new directions; a space to learn, be inspired and discover, with imaginative learning resources and free access to some of the world’s best speakers.
The Beacons Project gives A-Level students from across Wales the opportunity to come to the festival and join a specially created programme of creative writing, learning and participation, with applications co-ordinated by the Welsh Government Department for Education.
Next Step University? is an initiative on site for young people to find out more about degree courses and student life from some of UK’s leading universities. Academics, admissions tutors and students will all be on hand to help guide them through the route to the best course.
The festival recently announced a new partnership with the Welsh government to give free access to special programming for schools on the first days of the festival. Meanwhile, students in full-time Further Education are entitled to free tickets for up to five events (subject to T&Cs see website).
On the Hay stages, #HAYYA superstars Frances Hardinge, Holly Smale, Juno Dawson, Patrick Ness and vlogging sensation Caspar Lee headline the programme, alongside leading names from across the worlds of books, film, TV and entertainment, including Caitlin Moran, Sam Mendes, Maxine Peake, Sarah Millican, Marcus Brigstocke, Dara Ó Briain, Sara Pascoe, Laura Marling, K T Tunstall, Turin Brakes, Michael Palin, Germaine Greer, Salman Rushdie, and Jeanette Winterson.
8-12’s: Children’s heroes pack the rest of the festival’s HAYDAYS programme, bringing together favourite authors and illustrators including Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Morpurgo, Chris Riddell, Cressida Cowell, and Julian Clary.
Young children: In addition to the many family favourites on site – from Julia Donaldson to a Beatrix Potter celebration – families with younger children can also enjoy a whole range of workshops, crafts and fun games on site – from making a dream jar to celebrate Dahl100 in the Make a Take Tent, to taking part in Yoga for Kids.
For more information, or to book tickets to Hay Festival 2016, visit www.hayfestival.org.
