Ben Aldridge - Resilience Speaker for Schools
Ben Aldridge speaks to students and parents about resilience, anxiety and how to handle difficult things. His talks draw on Stoic philosophy and on his own experience of working through anxiety and panic attacks by deliberately doing the things that scared him.
He has spoken at schools such as Harrow, Le Rosey, Nottingham High School, Berkhamsted, Putney High, Huddersfield Grammar and Wellington College International Shanghai, amongst many others.
What students take away
Teenagers are told to be resilient a lot, but they're rarely told how. Ben's talks give them something practical. You can build resilience the same way you build fitness, by choosing small, manageable challenges on purpose.
Ben tells the story of how he did exactly that. There were ice baths and marathons, but also telling unfunny jokes to strangers and walking a pet banana through London. The talk is funny and honest about anxiety, and students leave with a clear way to start building resilience themselves.
Formats
Whole school assemblies
Talks for specific year groups
Smaller student workshops
Speech days and prize givings
Evening talks for parents on helping young people build resilience at home
Sessions can be adapted for different ages, and Ben is happy to talk through what will work best for your school.
Seriously Happy
Ben's book for teenagers, Seriously Happy, covers ten lessons from philosophy, from Stoicism to Zen, and how to use them in everyday life. It was shortlisted for the 2025 Information Book Awards. School talks draw on the same ideas, so the book is a natural follow-on for students who want more.
To get a feel for Ben’s writing, a free sample chapter of Seriously Happy can be accessed below:
Free resources for schools
To keep the ideas going after a visit, Ben offers free resources at benaldridge.com/download. They include sample chapters, Stoic summaries, a classroom discussion guide and challenge trackers that students can use on their own or in tutor time.
What schools say
""Ben Aldridge came to speak at our School Speech Day and did an outstanding job in inspiring our students. He spoke powerfully about his own story and encouraged our students to build their own resilience. He does this in an entertaining manner and kept the whole audience engaged throughout. Many of our students went on to buy his books! His message that you can build your own resilience using Stoic principles is a strong one." - Kevin Fear, Headmaster, Nottingham High School
"Ben delivered a wonderful and entertaining talk to our students and parents. It was a delight to work with him." -
Huddersfield Grammar School
"Ben spoke at Edufest 2026 at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland on his mental health journey and recovery. His sessions were wonderfully engaging, moving and impactful and added so much to a festival of education that has, at its heart, the importance of human contact. Thank you, Ben!" — Edufest 2026, Institut Le Rosey
"We loved hearing from Ben, sharing such an important message with our Year 10 pupils about coping when life is uncomfortable. He spoke to them in a really relatable and engaging way, and had the whole year group interested which is very impressive! Ben was really clear in his communication before the event, so we knew what to expect and how to best prepare the group so they would get the most out of it. We hope to work with him again in the future." — The Island Free School
"Great session! We really enjoyed Ben's talk." — Harrow School
Book Ben for your school
Ben speaks at schools across the UK and internationally. To check availability or talk through what you have in mind, use the enquiry form on the following page: