Sherborne celebrates Alan Turing’s legacy with inaugural Turing Conference
Four days of discovery, innovation and creative thinking bring Dorset schools, experts and the wider community together, 100 years after Turing arrived in Sherborne.
Hundreds of young people joined leading figures from science, technology, education and the creative industries for Sherborne’s inaugural Turing Conference, celebrating the remarkable legacy of Alan Turing.
Organised jointly by the town’s Turing Project and Sherborne Schools Group, the conference ran from 13–16 October to mark the centenary of Turing’s arrival at Sherborne School in 1926. Across four days, pupils explored the curiosity, imagination and independent thinking that defined his achievements.
The conference culminated at Sherborne Girls’ Merritt Centre on Friday, where Sixth Form students from Yeovil College, The Gryphon School, Sherborne Girls, Sherborne Boys and Leweston questioned an expert panel on the future of artificial intelligence, its impact on jobs and the choices facing their generation.
The panel brought together James Cary, BBC comedy writer; Professor Özgür Şimşek of the University of Bath; Nick Sinnott of BAE Systems Digital Intelligence; Dr Sol Rogers of Magnopus; geopolitical intelligence adviser Suki Fuller; Nick Sinnott Head of Technological Strategy at BAE Systems Digital and Professor Alison Honour, Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University. Air Marshal Sir Christopher Colville introduced the session, chaired by Sherborne’s Director of Entrepreneurship, Ben Keene.
Arabella, a sixth form pupil at Sherborne Girls, said “This morning’s conference was both extremely intriguing and thought provoking. Coming into the discussion I was quite scared of AI; after hearing all the positives and all the real-world issues that have been solved by AI, I feel quite hopeful for the future. The panel provided a detailed analysis of the uses and abuses of AI, particularly focusing on how AI is impacting young people's lives.”
An afternoon Tech Fest offered hands-on demonstrations and conversations with representatives from Microsoft, Bletchley Park, GCHQ, Oracle and the universities of Cambridge, Bath and Bournemouth.
Earlier in the week, Sherborne Prep welcomed 300 children from neighbouring schools for workshops in coding, cryptography, robotics, creative design and problem-solving. Further sessions at The Gryphon School and a concert at Sherborne Abbey brought students and the wider community into the celebrations.
Dr Ruth Sullivan, Head of Sherborne Girls, said: “It has been a privilege to host the culmination of the Turing Conference and welcome so many young people from neighbouring schools. Turing’s legacy reminds us of the importance of curiosity, courage and independent thinking. Seeing students engage so enthusiastically with ideas that will shape their futures has been truly inspiring.”
Both partners share an ambition to build on the conference’s momentum and Sherborne’s unique connection with Turing to inspire future generations. The town is planning a permanent Turing Centre in Sherborne by 2030, while the Sherborne Schools Group is developing a digital innovation and entrepreneurship programme for pupils aged 8 to 18, combining technical fluency with ethical grounding, enterprise and strength of character, the qualities that defined Turing himself. At its heart will be a new innovation and enterprise centre created by reimagining an existing space within the schools.
Air Marshal Sir Christopher Colville said: “Celebrating Alan Turing here in Sherborne, with a pupil-focused conference, supported by so many brilliant industry minds, has been truly inspirational. It has reconfirmed the need for greater entrepreneurial support in the Southwest. I’m already looking forward to the next phase of the Turing Project, with plans to create a Turing Centre for all, here in Sherborne, by 2030.”
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