“A Life with Viruses”
Professor Peter Openshaw CBE visited Sidcot School in Winscombe yesterday to deliver the School’s annual Darwen Lecture. Addressing the students (both live in the Drama Studio and streamed across the campus), Professor Openshaw shared his experience both as an alumnus of the School and as a foremost scientist specialising in lung immunology who has advised government policy-making, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sidcot’s Darwen Lectures were introduced as whole school events in 1993 as a tribute to the Davies family, which has been linked to Sidcot for over 100 years. Several generations of the family, including the first and second Lord and Lady Darwen attended the School. The lectures have been established as a contribution to the continuing debate on the future of education and wider society.
Professor Openshaw left Sidcot in 1970. He trained in lung diseases and undertook a PhD in immunology before establishing a laboratory at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School (later part of Imperial College London). He created the academic department of Respiratory Medicine and the Centre for Respiratory Infection at Imperial College and was elected President of the British Society for Immunology in 2014.
Professor Openshaw has been a leading voice during the COVID-19 pandemic, appearing regularly on the BBC (including the Andrew Marr Show, Question Time and the Today programme). His visionary approach has delivered life-changing research programmes and his strong leadership has inspired researchers in their endeavours as well as provided reassurance to the public.
During his remarkable and inspiring lecture, “A Life with Viruses”, Professor Openshaw led the audience through the history of immunology and the impact it had on managing the recent pandemic. He spoke of how his experience at Sidcot and values as a Quaker have informed and supported the ethics around his professional practice. He also shared that his route into medical school relied not just on his academic qualifications, but also on his ability to tie knots!
Commenting, Iain Kilpatrick, Headmaster at Sidcot School said, “We are greatly indebted to Peter, who gave very generously of his time, not only to deliver the Darwen Lecture, but also meet students and staff afterwards to chat over coffee. His reminiscences of life at Sidcot were illuminating and his affection for the School was palpable. His was a truly remarkable and inspiring lecture that lived up to the finest traditions of the Darwen and we are all very grateful to him for giving up his time.”
Categories: School News Sidcot School
