Full Conference Programme
Two days of events celebrating the life, work and continuing influence of Alan Turing, bringing together technology, education, innovation, music and the wider Sherborne community.
Thursday 15 October
Day one moves through a series of events across Sherborne, beginning with robotics and artificial intelligence before concluding with an evening reception and concert.
Demonstration of AI-Driven Robotics
11:00–13:00
Venue:
Gryphon School – Innovation Hub
Welcome:
Joe Miles and Alastair Poulain
35 pupils from The Gryphon School together with 10 pupils from other schools will take part in an AI-driven robotics demonstration with Thales UK.
Reinforcement Learning: Artificial Agents That Learn From Their Own Experience
14:00–15:30
Venue:
Gryphon School
Welcome:
Jim Gower
An interactive lecture by Professor Özgür Şimşek, Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bath. Reinforcement learning: Artificial agents that learn from their own experience.
Target audience: Years 11, 12 and 13.
Evening Concert *open to the public
Tickets available here
19:30–21:00
Venue:
Sherborne Abbey
A concert of varied music, poetry and readings celebrating the life and work of Alan Turing.
19:30 – Welcome by the Rector
19:35 – Introduction and reading by Sir Christopher Coville
19:45 – Choir
20:00 – Readings – Turing’s time at sherborne – Sherborne boys’ School students
20:10 – Polekats
20:30 - Interlude
20:45 – Readings – The Enigma Story - Gryphon School and Sherborne Girls’ School students
21:00 – Town band
21:25 – Closing Remarks – Sir Christopher Coville KCB
21:30 - Finish
Friday 16 October
A full day of discussion, demonstration and hands-on technology exploring artificial intelligence and the technologies shaping our future.
Welcome & Opening Remarks
09:30–09:40
Dr Ruth Sullivan
Head of Sherborne Girls
Heads of the other participating schools will also be in attendance.
The Future of AI
09:45–11:00
Expert panel-led discussion and debate
What will your generation decide? What controls should apply to the application of AI? What impact will it have on the job market?
Introductory remarks:
Professor Sir Christopher Coville
Facilitator: Ben Keene, Director of Entrepreneurship, Sherborne Boys’ School
Panel Members
Digital Twin Technology
11:30–12:15
A demonstration of the latest cutting-edge Digital Twin technology from UK global leader Magnopus.
The presentation will explore its problem-solving capabilities and applications in education, construction, smart cities and infrastructure, medical research, drug design, vaccine discovery and entertainment.
A central feature will be the use of AI-driven Digital Twin technology in space exploration.
Presented by Sol Rogers
Global Director of Innovation, Magnopus
Closing Remarks
Professor Sir Christopher Coville
Tech Fest
12:30–16:00
Students begin visiting Tech Fest, which will showcase the many ways that AI is being and could be used to make real changes to processes and working practices – from drones to medical research across a spectrum of private sector companies, universities, GCHQ and HMGCC.
Alan Turing Centre Briefing
Panelists and Sir Dermot to Westcott House for a briefing on the proposed Alan Turing Centre plans.
Public Tech Fest
15:00–16:00
Tech Fest open to parents and other pupils
Other Festival Activities
Additional provisional activities taking place around the Turing 100 Festival include:
- "Turing Before Bletchley” at The Sherborne. Exhibition runs from 10 October 2026 - 3 January 2027.
- Mark Baldwin, ‘Doctor Enigma’ on 28 October 2026. "ENIGMA: The Machine. The Code. The Codebreakers.” at The Sherborne. An evening with Dr Mark
