Sixth-formers from 19 schools came to Drapers’ Hall to argue about whether AI can be a force for good. The day before, it nearly didn’t happen.

At 6am the day before the 2026 Raleigh Lecture, the Tee Dobinson took the call no organiser wants. The keynote speaker was dealing with a serious emergency and couldn’t make it. By 6.30am Chris Simmance had agreed to step up and give the Raleigh Lecture himself. By 7am Liraz Postan had joined the speaker line-up. Both wrote new talks around full working days, and the next morning 150 Year 12 and 13 students arrived at Drapers’ Hall none the wiser.

This year’s theme was a question: “AI for Good?”

The format was new too. Rather than sitting with their own schools, students were seated at mixed tables, each hosted by an entrepreneur from the Company, so the first conversation of the day was with people they’d never met. It meant the tables were talking before anyone took the stage.

Duncan Simms opened proceedings for the Trust, thanking the Drapers’ Company for its patronage and sponsorship. Past Master Peter Hewitt explained how the series began: he created the Raleigh Lecture in 2018 to mark 400 years since the execution of his ancestor Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the great entrepreneurs of the Elizabethan age. This was the ninth. Tee Dobinson, as MC, welcomed the students, and Past Master Mark Huxley, Chairman of the Trust, formally opened the day.

Each speaker left the tables with a question to argue over. Ideja Bajra made the case for judgement and adaptability as the skills that will matter most. Liraz Postan used the characters from Wicked to explore “Good AI vs. Evil AI and the Humans in between”. Manon Dave told stories of AI super-powering creative work and being used as a force for good. Then Chris Simmance, in the keynote slot, put it to the room: “What’s one thing you do currently that AI could take over tomorrow? And if it did, what would you do with the extra time?”

The closing panel was hosted by Junior Warden Veronica Heaven, with questions each table had worked on together. She drew them from a bowler hat, which got the loudest cheer of the afternoon.

“The speakers were superb and the way the students were all encouraged to take part was spot on,” said Simon Coppel, Head of Sixth Form at Chigwell School. Revin Kazim, a sixth-former at Drapers’ Academy, put it more simply: “Such an amazing experience, so thankful for the opportunity.”

The day finished with refreshments and photographs, and the conversations carried on well after the last picture was taken.

The Raleigh Lecture is the flagship education event of the Worshipful Company of Entrepreneurs Trust, run in partnership with the Company and the Drapers’ Company. Find out more about the Trust’s work.

With thanks to

The planning committee: Paul Cleaver, Tee Dobinson, Paul Eveleigh, Peter Hewitt, Mark Huxley and Duncan Simms.

Our table entrepreneurs: Jenifer Andersen, Lars Andersen, Mohit Bajaj, John Burton, Paul Cleaver, Rakhitha Dias, Shernaz Engineer, Paul Eveleigh, Andrew Fishwick, Howard Freeman, Sheyi Lisk-Carew, Pablo Lloyd, Robert Marcus, Khalid Talukdur, Pedro Tavares, Ken Valledy and Paddy Willis.

And to Johnathan Cherry for the photography.