Raising the Future: Pivotal Education Conference Announced

Highfield and Brookham School is excited to announce, “Raising the Future”, a defining educational conference taking place on 28th April at the Liphook-based school.

 

Taking place at a pivotal moment for education, as the Government announces forthcoming reforms to the national curriculum due to be implemented from 2028, the event will bring together educational leaders and innovators for a transformative exploration of the future of learning, highlighting the urgent need for meaningful change.

As the world our children will inherit evolves faster than ever, the conversation about the future of education is no longer enough - action is now imperative. The conference will explore how education must evolve, creating the conditions for real, collaborative implementation. It will bring together educators, employers, policymakers and thought leaders committed to ensuring education develops to meet the demands of the future. The programme combines expert presentations, live panel discussions, and interactive Q&A sessions, offering insight into both the opportunities and challenges facing education today.

The speaker line-up includes Sarah Clarke, COO, Media & Entertainment, ITV plc at ITV; Darren Coxon, Founder CoxonAI; Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham School; Will Goldsmith, Head of Bedales School; Evelyn Haywood, Director of Education at Skills Builder Partnership; Sophie Winkleman, Actress, Author, and Social Media Commentator. The event will be hosted by Lawrence Deju-Wiseman, Professor-in-the-field at the University of Connecticut.

Key themes will include the importance of essential skills within the national curriculum; the need for reform of the current GCSE framework; the impact of AI and emotional intelligence on future learning and the work environment; what employers will seek from tomorrow’s workforce; and the widely discussed effects of children’s social media use.

'The conversation about the future of education is no longer enough. Now it’s time to act. “Raising the Future” is a catalyst, where ideas become action and collaboration turns insight into real change.' Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield and Brookham School. She continues, 'Our children will be leaving school and working in a completely different world, and education needs to evolve to support them, and we need to work together to make this fundamental change happen. There has been a lot of talk about education for the future, but this conference is more than that, it's about actually taking the findings and working together to implement real change and the urgency.'

Following the conference, delegates will be invited to continue the dialogue through future round-table discussions. A formal paper outlining key findings and recommendations will be prepared in the context of the Government’s recently announced national curriculum reforms and submitted to the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, ensuring the discussion helps to inform and shape future national policy.

This conference will mark a turning point moment for parents, educators and policymakers - a commitment to preparing children not just for exams, but for life. The future of education will depend on collaboration, courage, and action and it will begin here.

“Raising the Future” is a sector-wide conference, open to educators from the state, independent sectors, employers of the future, as well as all those committed to ensuring education evolves to meet the demands of tomorrow’s world. Subsidised ticket rates are available for state school educators. Full conference details can be found on our website. 

February 2026