Sixth formers encouraged to think about Theology as a university subject

Professors John Loughlin and Janet Soskice, from Cambridge University with Worth School students

Worth School in Sussex played host to 120 Sixth Formers from across the South East recently, for the School's first 'Theology Plus' conference. The event gathered together a wide range of people all reading Theology - Sixth Formers, university professors, monks and teachers - to discuss the place of Theology in the world and what its future might be. It was also hoped that the event would inspire students to read Theology at university.

At the conference were students from St Wilfrid's Catholic School Crawley, St Leonard's Mayfield, St Mary's Ascot, Bedales School and Worth. The students made their own lively discussion in the breaks and over lunch, while there were more formal sessions with leading speakers on the relevance of Theology to art, creation and social justice.

Oliver, a Sixth Former at the school, was surprised by the day: "As someone who is planning on reading Theology at university, I thought the day was a great success." When asked about how the day has influenced him, he said, "The conference was both informative and thought provoking, I was inspired by the idea of using theology from the past in order to help us find meaning in the way we are living our lives today."

The event was organised by Eamon Manning of the Christian Theology department at Worth School who said: "The place of theological discussion in society has never been more relevant than now. We need a wise and informed reading of theology of the past and a creative look at what this tells us about life today. Theology gives us a unique perspective on how we live our lives but also our ultimate destiny and can enrich the lives we lead because of this.