HEREFORD students will be getting lectured by some of the country’s most innovative minds thanks to a series of multimedia tutorials recorded at Hay Festival last week.

Similar to the vastly popular TED Talks series, ‘Hay-Levels’ are a series of five- to fifteen-minute films by leading academics which aim to inspire and support current A-level students.

Featuring a range of ideas and speakers – from Richard Dawkins to Tristram Hunt – the films will cross multiple A-level subjects for Hereford Sixth Form students.

Hay Festival director, Peter Florence, said: “These are great teachers, and their generosity and clarity are extraordinary.”

The idea for the collaboration came about when, sharing a ride to the festival with a group of HSF students, an Oxford University professor broke into an impromptu lecture.

Marcus du Sautoy, a professor of Mathematics and the Public Understanding of Science, has already worked alongside Dara O'Briain on his show 'School of Hard Sums' to help popularise Maths - and sees Hay Levels as another way of making his area of expertise more relatable to young people.

He said: “Last year the idea came about when I was in the back of a minibus with a bunch of sixth formers and Jonathan Godfrey.

“This year it’s great to have the chance to reach all those kids preparing for A-Levels and help them to put their ideas into a wider picture.”