Divine Canvases and Heretical Narratives

Julie Arliss is the Chair of the ISRSA and MD of Academy Learning. She is known for the conferences she organises for schools, working in partnership with the Ian Ramsey centre, University of Oxford. She was awarded a Farmington Scholarship by Harris Manchester College, Oxford and has taught in both private and maintained schools, in the UK and abroad. She is currently based in the Theology Faculty, University of Oxford.

Professor Alister McGrath, holds three doctorates from the University of Oxford; a doctoral degree in molecular biophysics, A Doctor of Divinity degree in theology and a Doctor of Letters degree in intellectual history. 

He is best known for his work examining the relationship between science and religion, and, as a former atheist, his opposition to New Atheism and antireligion. Among his best known books are The Dawkins Delusion? Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes and the Meaning of Life. He is the former principal of Wycliffe Hall and most recently held the Andreas Idreos Professorship of Science and Religion at Oxford. He is currently developing a series of accessible video presentations which are available free of charge on his website.

Cecilia Bidie is Head of Theology, Philosophy and Religion and Wetherby Prep School.  Her talk is about how to leverage tech in the TPR classroom to enhance and consolidate learning. She will discuss how best to implement it into lessons, give practical examples and explore different technologies. Delegates are warmly invited to bring their own ideas and experiences to the session for discussion.

Laura Miller studied Philosophy at the University of Warwick and has been teaching for twelve years across various independent schools. She is currently Head of Divinity at Eton College where she has held the position for four years. She has a Masters in Educational Innovation and is currently reading an MA in Religion alongside her teaching practice. She is also an assistant examiner for A Level Religious Studies and the Philosophy setter for Common Entrance Religious Studies for ISEB.

Professor Hordern read Classics at New College, Oxford before postgraduate study of Theology in Oxford and a doctorate in Edinburgh. After this he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge, Associate Director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, Lecturer at Cambridge’s Faculty of Divinity. Prof Hordern now supervises postgraduate students in the field of Christian Ethics and teaches undergraduate students on courses in Philosophy and Theology. He works in partnership with healthcare researchers, clinicians and institutions, exploring issues which concern the ethos of healthcare. Interfacing with such real-world practical problems, he leads the Oxford Healthcare Values Partnership, which has collaborated closely with cross-disciplinary academic colleagues. He is the Humanities Division academic lead for the Medical Humanities/Humanities and Healthcare programmes which develops research projects in areas such as vaccine hesitancy, medical education and ageing/ageism. He was a member of the Royal College of Physicians Committee for Ethical Issues in Medicine and co-authored the RCP’s report Advancing Medical Professionalism (2018). A fruit of this work is a new curriculum for undergraduate medical students at the University of Oxford.

Oliver McAdoo is Principal Examiner for the Cambridge Pre-U and Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board.  He is an author, speaker for Keynote Education, and a philosophy consultant for Cambridge University.  He is in the process of creating a new Philosophy A Level to be run alongside the current RS A Level and, should this prove successful, a GCSE in ‘pure’ philosophy – the first of its kind in Britain.