SOPHIA Network Meeting in Cambridge, UK

SOPHIA is excited to invite you all to our annual meeting. The meeting will be hybrid to accommodate those who want to join us online. 

REGISTER FOR THE MEETING HERE

WHEN 

25th – 26th May 2024

WHERE

St John’s College School is an independent school for ages 4-13 that houses the choristers for the St John’s College Chapel and other day and boarding pupils. The network meeting on Saturday and Sunday will be held in the hall of the Senior School. [Google Maps Link] Tea, coffee and lunch provided – please be clear about your dietary requirements when registering for the conference. 

YOUR HOSTS

The hosting organization for this year is The Philosophy Man, who are also offering a free pre-meeting demonstration day of workshops at our venue on Friday 24th May. Jason Buckley (right) is a Cambridge resident who can advise on eateries, places to stay and things to do – if you’re still here Monday you might be able to join him on his narrowboat for a cruise along the river. Tom Bigglestone will also be on hand to help the technical side of the event run smoothly. Click here for the Google Form to let the hosts know if you’d like to attend the pre-meeting demonstration day.

PRE-MEETING DEMONSTRATION DAY, FRIDAY 24th

For those able to be in Cambridge on Friday, Jason and Tom will be running demonstration workshops with primary students at SJCS from 4-11 years old. These will feature a range of different enquiry structures and facilitation strategies, from Thinkers’ Games that make the thinking physical to Philosophy-in-Role immersing children as characters in a story, to Facilitator-in-role where the facilitator becomes a naïve robot, alien or time-traveller puzzled by an aspect of modern life. Between sessions, there will be an opportunity for Jason and Tom to explain their planning and decision-making, and to answer your questions. 

The sessions are free to attend. Please arrive at the Prep School [Google Maps Link] between 9.00 and 9.15 for a 9.30 start, finishing at 3.30 p.m. (NOTE: This is NOT the senior school which is the venue for the main network meeting and is 100 metres further along the road). Please bring your own lunch for this day. Please use the Google Form to let us know you’re coming.

THE CITY

Cambridge combines beauty and compactness, with most of the main places of interest within easy walking distance of one another. Beautiful university and college buildings, lots of green spaces, plenty of restaurants and over 100 pubs, many within easy staggering distance of the centre.

If time allows, punting along the river provides a particularly good view of the colleges. Scudamores and other providers provide both chauffeured and self-punt punts.

TRANSPORT TO CAMBRIDGE

Stansted is the closest airport, with direct flights from much of Europe Trains from the airport run direct to Cambridge, average of 43 mins with fast trains 28 mins. The venue is served by several bus routes, including one from the Madingley Park and Ride, a short distance from the M11 for those arriving by car. If coming from London, be careful to catch one of the fast trains from Kings Cross unless you want to make a study of every possible station in between.

TRANSPORT TO THE VENUE

Google Maps is quite reliable for bus transport, and the U1 and U2 Universal Bus will take you from the hotels highlighted below with a short walk at either end. Cambridge is also fabulously flat for easy walking and is compact. If you’d like to go for the full Cambridge experience, hire a bike for the weekend!

HOTELS

A range of accommodation is available but you are advised to book as early as possible as Cambridge is a popular tourist destination. Particularly recommended are:

The Hyatt Centric is a good location for transport to the venue. The Premier Inn, Girton and Turing Locke are in the same area. Booking.com has lots of options and Airbnb may be a good option particularly for a larger party. Avoid booking last minute as Cambridge is a popular tourist destination.

LUNCH

Please indicate any dietary requirements you have when registering for the network meeting.

CONFERENCE DINNER

The conference dinner will be at Bills, 34-35 Green St, Cambridge CB2 3JX [Google Maps link] at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday evening, with a cost of £21.95 for two courses.  For dessert, we will head to Jack’s Gelato a short walk away, which has become a Cambridge institution for its superb range and quality of gelato (not included). It’s in a characterful part of the city, close to King’s College Chapel and opposite the Corpus Clock.

PROGRAMME