Rhubarb 2024

ST EDWARD’S

Richard Speir (Field House, 2004-2009)

Richard Speir directed the award-nominated production of Gentlemen at the Arcola Theatre in Hackney, which ran from the 4th-28th October last year. In the play, class struggles combine with the erasure of bisexual identity as two freshers struggle to fit in at one of England's top universities. Matt Parvin’s challenging and provocative drama swiftly snowballs into a fascinatingly knotty story with an almighty twist. Richard’s production received outstanding reviews, with The Stage praising his assured direction and Dominic Cavendish writing,‘I've just seen the best new play about university power games since David Mamet's Oleanna .’

OSE NEWS

We interviewed Grace in the run-up to the challenge in Rhubarb 2023, so read last year’s edition if you would like to find out more! Bharat Dody (Sing’s, 2005-2007) Bharat has been building an exciting platform which acts as both an assistant for teachers and a tutor for students, called Learno.ai.The programme uses Artificial Intelligence and can be used by teachers to tutor or assess students in one-to-one conversations, based on the learning objectives and course material they have set.The programme has already been part of a successful pilot scheme at Harvard University on their Computer Science Course, where the technology has been used to help students to understand coding whilst also advising them on how they can improve their own work. Rupert Shipperley (Kendall, 2006-2011) Rupert was selected to represent the Team GB Men's Hockey Squad at the Paris Olympics this Summer.This was Rupert's second Olympics, after making his debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Rupert has also captained Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the 2023 World Cup and the 2023 EuroHockey Championships. Read the full interview with Rupert about his Olympic journey on pages 42-43.

Grace Gilbert (Corfe, 2005-2010)

In January 2024, Grace completed the ‘World’s Toughest Row: Atlantic’ alongside her team,‘Vibe the Wave’. Together, the trio rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from La Gomera to Antigua –

a phenomenal achievement.

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