On Thursday 9 November, the RGS welcomed Angellica Bell back to deliver the King’s Lecture for this term. Eight years ago, she made her first public appearance here as, in 2016, The One Show ran a feature on the School’s involvement in the 1991 Juno space mission when the RGS was the first school to make radio contact with Dr Helen Sharman, Britain’s first astronaut on the Mir space station. Angellica interviewed former member of staff, Frank Bell who was in charge of the RGS’s Radio Club, as well as two original members of the club.
Angellica delivered a fascinating talk entitled The Path to Authenticity and spoke about her belief that you have to be true to your own personality, values and spirit regardless of the pressure that you may come under – whether that be from peers, work colleagues or even strangers to act otherwise. She spoke about the experiences in her life which has taught her to try and be the very best version of herself and the different tools she has used to help her achieve that.
The biggest break in her life was being offered the contract for Children’s BBC a good few years ago when it had a prime spot on BBC1 pulling in six or seven million people every afternoon. She never thought she would end up being a TV presenter – rather a barrister or police officer or even a teacher as she thought being on TV was an impossible goal. But the pressures of TV are not to be understated with everything that comes with it. Through thick and thin, she has realised that learning to say no, accepting you cannot please everyone and sticking to your own values mean ultimately you have a more centred and more mindful existence.
Angellica spent time at the end of her talk answering a series of engaging questions and chatting with individuals afterwards on a one-to-one basis.
The evening raised over £200 for her chosen charity, Momentum Children’s Charity, in Kingston raising money to help families of seriously ill children to keep moving forward.