10 Years On: Q & A with Founder Paul Coupar-Hennessy

The Linacre Institute was founded in April 2014, led by Paul Coupar-Hennessy. Paul has had a massive impact on Linacre’s journey, founding and growing the Charity and setting us on course with our goal of supporting intellectually curious students reach their full potential. So, to mark 10 years since the charity’s founding, we caught up with Paul to discuss his work and his reflections on Linacre.

Where were you/what were you doing when you had the idea of setting up the Linacre Institute?
I was teaching English in my home town of Chesterfield. I saw so many children hungry to learn and with excellent minds. Interestingly, quite a lot weren’t straight-A students. I knew these people would find their tribe at highly selective universities. But there were rungs on the ladder missing, stopping them reaching those places. I set out to put some of those rungs in place.

Why Thomas Linacre?
Firstly, a local connection. Thomas Linacre (1460-1524) was also raised in Chesterfield (most probably). He went from northern England (and yes, Chesterfield is the north) to achieve great things. Second, he embodied things I respected. Love of learning. Using that to make lives better (he founded the Royal College of Physicians, which began the process of getting people proper medical care). Thirdly, his epitaph: “Beloved by men of all classes”.

Would you do anything differently if you had your time again
I’d try to be kinder to myself. Turning an idea into a reality took me right to the edges of myself. Sometimes that was hard for me and for those around me. 

What message would you give to current Linacre students, and has that changed from your time at Linacre?
No, the same messages. Follow your heart. Take your brain with you. Pursue what really lights you up. Be kind.

How has your own educational journey influenced your life?
I went from an ordinary comprehensive school to Cambridge University. It normalised  successful people for me: I knew they weren’t from a different planet. That gave me confidence. There were three things I wanted to do. Be a cricket writer. Start something that gave children like me a community of intellectual curiosity to be at home in. And work out what life was for. I’ve had a go at all of those. I probably wouldn’t have done that without the confidence Cambridge gave me. It also brought me dear friends. The downside is that at somewhere like Cambridge people can pick up the message that they need to be extraordinary to be valuable. That’s unhelpful and very untrue.   

What are you currently intellectually curious about?
Consciousness, reality, mystery, mysticism. The edges of what we can understand. It seems to me arbitrary and arrogant to assume that our brains have evolved to precisely the point where we can understand everything through reason. Meditation experiences have convinced me that reality is bigger, stranger and more beautiful than I understand, or can understand.

What’s your best Linacre memory?
Every moment I saw someone growing. Especially growing the confidence to get out into the world the remarkable things that they had inside them. There were many, many of those moments. I especially remember teaching literature in a hot seminar room at Trinity Hall to Jason Marshall and Lydia Jackson, and feeling magic in the air.

What’s next for you?
I now live in a Buddhist community. I’m training for ordination as a Buddhist teacher and Dharma farer. I’m trying to be the best dad I can be. And I’m opening to mystery.