29 September 2017

The 2017 lecture was David Miliband’s fifteenth South Shields Annual Lecture and the ninth consecutive year that it has been hosted at Harton Academy.

This year we were delighted to welcome none other than film director, producer and screenwriter, Danny Boyle. Danny is best known for directing ….Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting 2, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours, Steve Jobs, The Beach, Shallow Grave and, of course, the maginifcent Opening Ceremony for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

David Miliband was, as ever, in fine form and looked extremely pleased to be back in South Shields. He questioned Danny brilliantly for almost an hour, whilst clips from Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony and Trainspotting 2 were shared with the packed audience.  Danny gave us a fascinating insight into the story behind each of the films and the challenges associated with directing Slumdog Millionaire, in particular. He also explained how he managed to lure the Queen and Daniel Craig (James Bond) into the infamous scene as part of the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Danny had earlier spoken to various members of the press and took part in a refreshingly honest and humorous interview with one of our students, Ollie Burgin-Plews, for the school’s website.

Danny was, without doubt, one of the most delightful and entertaining guests we have ever had in school and it was an absolute privilege and honour to meet him and to hear about his fantastic career. Numerous guests commented that they could have listened to Danny and David all evening and that this had been their favourite lecture of them all. In my opinion, the lectures certainly seem to get better and better every year!

We rounded off a fabulous evening with the usual magnificent ‘fish and chips’ at Colmans Restaurant!

Sir Ken Gibson – Executive Head Teacher/CEO

Video interview with Danny Boyle.

Below are some photos from the evening.