FelsTED Talks

Rakesh Pathak is Head of History and Politics at Feslsted School. After graduating from Oxford, Rakesh taught at Forest School in London before joining the Felsted family in 2006. Rakesh is the founder, editor and chief of the school’s annual Cromwellian magazine and in recent years has become chair of the pupil lead equality and diversity committee. Rakesh is also a keen sportsman, particularly e...

Rebecca Purdy is Assistant Head at Felsted School. Rebecca joined Felsted in 2007 as an English teacher and leads the co-curricular programme for the Senior School. Rebecca is also the former Director of the Model United Nations at Felsted and in recent years, has played an active role in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion at Felsted and across the education sector as a whole, encouraging...

Victor Chandler, a Felsted parent, is a British businessman, and former chairman of the company BetVictor. Victor has spent most of his life at the forefront of the bookmaking business as well as being involved with many high profile sports brands including Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC. The Victor Chandler bookmaker brand became well-known as a bespoke bookmaker, often willing to take bet...

Carla Rudd, Head of Girls’ Cricket at Felsted, is a professional cricketer who currently plays for Sussex, Southern Vipers and Southern Brave. Carla has also previously played for Middlesex and Berkshire. In 2021 Carla was part of the Southern Brave 100 team, reaching the grand final at Lord’s. Described by The Hundred as a ‘dependable keeper who chips in with useful runs late in an innings’, Carl...

Sir Marcus Setchell, Knight Commander of the Victorian Order, is a leading obstetrician and gynaecologist and the former Surgeon-Gynaecologist to HM The Queen & Royal Household. He attended Lady Louise Windsor at Frimley Park Hospital, the first royal child to be delivered at an NHS hospital. In July 2013, he led the team at the birth of Prince George of Cambridge at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary...

Arata is currently working as an Associate Field Officer in Uganda with UNHCR (the Refugee Agency) and previously worked in the DR Congo and Sudan. She also worked in Morocco with another UN organization and JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) as a volunteer. Prior to joining the UN, she worked with an NGO called Peace Boat where she visited over 50 countries around the world while wo...

Howard Dean is an American physician, author and politician who served as Governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election. Howard was an ESU (English Speaking Union) Scholar for one year at Felsted before moving on to study Political Science at Yale University....

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. Sarah Brook is an impressive woman who has dedicated her life to helping improve the lives of others. Sarah's journey with The Sparkle Foundation started when she visited Malawi at aged 18, to do some volunteer work after she left Felsted. Whilst she was there, she became gravely ill and required a...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. We’re ending the summer term by turning the tables and asking Headmaster Chris Townsend and Prep Headmaster Simon James to be guests on this episode. We ask them what the last twelve months have been like, what they’ve enjoyed about having a school podcast and also what they plan to do in the summer holi...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. In this episode Chris Townsend talks to Dr Chris Smith, a former Felstedian who is best known as the Naked Scientist, and has been particularly high profile with his coverage of the pandemic on the BBC as an expert virologist. Chris is a medical consultant specialising in clinical microbiology and virolo...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we'll be talking to various members of our community. We're looking forward to finding out what have been the biggest impacts in their character development and how each has made a difference to the world around them. In this episode Chris Townsend talks to Sophie Dorothe Lieke, former Felstedian and Environmentalist. After studying the I...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. In this episode Patricia Wardell, who is currently Deputy Head of an Alternative Provision - Newham Prus working with students that present Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) needs, SEND, vulnerability and disadvantaged young people. She is responsible for designing the curriculum offer and leading fo...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. In this episode Chris Townsend talks to Jojo Moyes, current parent, award winning journalist and best-selling author - she has sold 38 million books worldwide! They discuss what it's like seeing something you've written turn into a Hollywood production, how to get back into reading if you'...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. In this episode Chris Townsend talks to Dara Akomolafe about current events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and the impact students from schools like Felsted can have in making a positive change in the world. Felsted School online Website: www.felsted.org Instagram: felsted_school Facebook: f...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. Today, Chris Townsend talks to Dr Olivia Chapple, a former Felstedian and co-founder of Horatio's Garden. She tells us about how this wonderful charity began with her very own moving story and how it's growing to help more and more people with spinal injuries. She also talks about the importanc...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. Today, Chris Townsend talks to Max Malins, England rugby player and  former Felstedian.  In this episode we discover how it feels to represent your country, as well as how to cope with the moments when things don't go so well. We also discover some of the people who helped Max on his journey through...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. In this episode Chris Townsend talks to Bella Collins, former Felstedian, who is rowing from San Francisco to Hawaii in May 2021 in the Great Pacific Ocean Race. We find out about building character, about the need for us all to reduce plastic and the importance of being in the moment. We also discover h...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we talk to various members of our community. In our first episode, Chris Townsend asks Eddie Hearn to talk about life as a sports promoter, a podcast host himself on BBC Radio 5 live and what life is like as a Felsted parent. Eddie Hearn's own podcast channel: No passion, No Point Felsted School online Website: www.felsted.org Instagram: felst...

Welcome to the FelsTED Talks podcast series where we'll be talking to various members of the community. We're looking forward to finding out what have been the biggest impacts in their development as characters and how each has made a difference to the world around them. We hope these talks will be inspirational for our pupils and to all who listen. And we're going to be broadcastin...