Wonder Wander 2026 - Fundraiser Tour: History of Medicine

Donate to join Wonder Wander and support Thoughtful

Thoughtful (formerly SAPERE) is the UK's longest-running charity dedicated to philosophy for children and communities (P4C). Since 1992 we've trained teachers and worked directly with young people to build the confidence to think for themselves, and with others. 

We focus our resources where they’re needed most, working with socio-economically and educationally disadvantaged learners to make philosophical enquiry more equitable. From classrooms to communities, we help people think deeply, communicate clearly and treat one another with care.

Wonder Wander 2026

Wonder Wander is Thoughtful's annual walking-and-talking fundraiser. Each year we take philosophical enquiry into new communities and raise money to fund the classes, teacher training and resources that keep P4C growing across the UK. Past Wonder Wanders have funded after-school philosophy clubs and sessions for care-experienced young people.

For 2026, we're partnering with universities to bring Wonder Wander to more people, helping people get to know their city while raising funds for Thoughtful. 

We're delighted that the Uehiro Oxford Institute is hosting the very first university Wonder Wander, in partnership with Uncomfortable Oxford. 

The price of your ticket is a donation to Thoughtful, made via the University of Oxford — funding our core work to bring philosophical enquiry to more people and places.

Why your support matters

Thoughtful is funded through a mix of training and course income, direct work with communities and young people, and grants. That landscape is always challenging, and particularly tough right now – just when we believe this work is needed most.

Behind every philosophy session, training and resource is a small team keeping it all running. They: 

• reach out to schools to explain what P4C is and how it helps 
• find funding to take philosophy beyond the classroom, into heritage sites, galleries, prisons and hospitals
• support schools to embed P4C to a high standard
• design and quality-assure every training course we run
• research what actually changes for teachers and pupils
• develop our trainers' practice
• keep our safeguarding and ethics watertight
• keep our board informed and our strategy on track
• update our website and keep the charity wheels turning

This small, mostly part-time team makes everything else possible. Supporting them means Thoughtful can keep reaching new schools, developing new opportunities and sharing what happens when people are given the space to think together.

Thanks to the Uehiro Oxford Institute and Uncomfortable Oxford, your ticket helps fund that team directly.

What your donation achieves

Every gift helps make philosophical enquiry possible. Choose the impact that speaks to you — or give monthly and help sustain it year after year.

Donations start at £10 per ticket, but here is a list of what each donation can achieve:

• £30 — Give a child a term of P4C
  Fund a child’s place in a term of philosophy classes or an after-school philosophy club.
• £60 — Create a P4C resource
  Help us develop an inspiring new resource that brings philosophical enquiry into classrooms.
• £75 — Introduce a school to P4C
  Fund a philosophy taster session or assembly that introduces children and teachers to the power of P4C.
• £300 — Train a teacher to facilitate P4C
  Give a teacher comprehensive introductory training, equipping them to use philosophical enquiry with every class they teach.
• £600 — Help a school embed P4C
  Fund a term of resources, guidance and professional support, helping a school make philosophical enquiry part of everyday learning.

All of these gifts can also be made monthly, from £2.50 to £50 per month, directly through Thoughtful.

The impact story worth telling

A teacher’s training is an investment that can keep paying off for years.

Train one teacher and they can bring P4C to every new class they teach, year after year. A £300 donation can therefore help create a lasting habit of philosophical enquiry — not just fund a single session.

A £30 gift, meanwhile, gives a child the chance to experience P4C right now, including in schools that haven’t yet had the opportunity to train their teachers.

Both matter. These giving levels simply let you choose the kind of impact you’d most like to make.

About the Uehiro Oxford Institute:

The Uehiro Oxford Institute is a research institute at the University of Oxford specialising in applied moral philosophy. It aims to advance human and animal well-being and global harmony through world-leading research into important ethical questions, and by supporting ethical decision-making beyond academia. 

The Institute helps people reflect on the values, concepts and arguments at stake in important questions across public and private life. This event is presented in support of Thoughtful, helping young people develop the philosophical enquiry, critical thinking and dialogue skills they need to flourish in learning and in life.

In partnership with the experienced guides at Uncomfortable Oxford, the Institute is delighted to present this thought-provoking walking tour exploring Oxford’s medical history. The tour invites participants to explore the ethical questions surrounding medical progress — and to consider how the past continues to shape contemporary debates in medical ethics. 

This fundraising tour will be accompanied by a philosopher from the Uehiro Oxford Institute, Dr Jonathan Pugh, who will be raising additional questions pertaining to research ethics, public health ethics and open the tour to wider conversations about practical ethics. 

About the Tour:

Dissect the long history of medical research and practice in Oxford. The history of medicine is always a bit uncomfortable. This tour walks you through medical history in the city from medieval plagues and the founding of the medical school, to the first trials of penicillin.

Far from a straightforward linear progression, Oxford’s medical history is a complicated conversation about health equity, medical ethics, and continued clashes over the control of the body. Using the built environment, we examine health geographies, resistance to public health policies, and the tensions inherent in medical progress.

This tour platforms diverse stories while discussing histories of empire, race, class, and gender, highlighting how these narratives have an enduring impact on our modern lives.

All our tours are led by university researchers who have completed our official Uncomfortable Oxford training programme. Our guides combine expert knowledge and performance, ensuring each tour is a fun and educational experience.

Tour recommended for ages 12 and older.

ITINERARY:

1. Bridge of Sighs (Hertford Bridge)

2. New College

3. Bodleian Quadrangle

4. Clarendon Building

5. Kings Arms Pub

6. Museum of Natural History

7. War Memorial Garden

8. Radcliffe Observatory Quarter

Please note that the itinerary can vary slightly depending on time and tour guide.

ACCESSIBLITY:

• All tours are wheelchair accessible, but please note some mildly uneven pavement and crowding in the city centre, especially on weekends.
• Service animals are welcome on all tours.
• Carers and accessibility aids are welcome to attend free of charge and do not need to register.
• The total distance walked during each tour is less than one mile. Each tour includes moments for sitting/leaning against walls, and toilets are available at certain points along the routes.

We do not usually use amplifying audio equipment but can arrange to do this upon request and with advance notice. Please inform your guide if any visual or hearing accommodations required, and they will keep this in mind throughout the tour. All our guides receive accessibility training and are prepared to make accommodations as needed.

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