Tuesday 10th December 2002 saw the first Dr Edward de Bono Thinking Schools Conference anywhere in the world. The Conference was organised by Atkey Solutions, the only Edward de Bono accredited training providers to the education sector in the UK. The Conference was hosted by The Bishop David Brown School an 11-16 Comprehensive School in Woking, Surrey, the first school to become officially accredited as an Edward de Bono Thinking School.

Some 200 delegates attended the Conference at which schools from 8 different Authorities and from all phases came together to share their expertise via tabletop presentations and displays illustrating the use of the Dr Edward de Bono Six Thinking Hats ® ® and CoRT Thinking Tools in their schools. The event included presentations on application in School Management and Leadership, and curriculum application from yr R through to yrs 12 and 13, from Citizenship to Design Technology, from English to School Council.

Dr Edward de Bono was present at the Conference and gave a one hour Seminar to attending delegates – one delegate remarking in their evaluation that ‘..listening to Edward for 1 hour was worth 70 years of INSET’.

Denise Coppard, Head Teacher at The Bishop David Brown School in Woking, talked about the application of the de Bono Tools in school Leadership and Management sharing how she had herself used the Edward de Bono techniques in helping her and her staff begin the regeneration of their own school.

Tabletop presentations were given by accredited, best practice schools. The presentations were extremely well received – delegates commenting on how refreshing it was to share best practice, enjoying the opportunity to network with other teachers on thinking skills in ways that clearly demonstrate impact. The day had an air of excitement and a buzz of industry about it. There were further displays from other accredited schools unable to send representatives.