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“Lauriston Lights expanded my view of the world.”- Cleo, Mentee
“This week has changed my life in many ways. It has boosted my confidence and self-esteem.”- Andrew, Mentee
“I’ve never talked to someone that’s in university and now they’re giving me first hand advice.” - Muhamad, Mentee
"Lauriston Lights is amazing: it gives you a chance to express your thoughts and feelings about things." - Denada, Mentee
"At Lauriston Lights you learn new things every day" - Wilfred, Mentee
"I learnt that I don't have to pursue a career because I have to or because it makes lots of money, but because it makes me happy" - Nahian, Mentee
"Thank you for such an awesome summer school. I'm going to miss you so much" - Darshan, Mentee
"Can I come back next year?" - Mohammad, Mentee
“A lot of fun and one of the best things I have on my CV.” - Hannah, University of York, Mentor
“Lauriston Lights is the most enjoyable, rewarding, exciting and interesting ways to spend two weeks of your summer.” Alex, University of Leeds, Mentor
"The relationship you build with the children and the mentors is priceless
and being able to witness first hand a child grow in confidence and develop
passion, drive and curiosity makes it so worthwhile. It's just as much a learning
and growing experience for the mentors as it is for the children" Kitty, University of York, Mentor
"Lauriston Lights was a great place to meet like-minded people and
make new friends. The atmosphere in the camp among the mentors was brilliant.
I was always excited to arrive and get started, knowing that I was a valuable
member of the team whose ideas were listened to and taken into account" - Joe, University of Nottingham, Mentor
"Interacting with peers and young children meant I worked on my communication skills and confidence. It help me to decide whether a career in education was what I wanted which was really useful" - Fenella, University of York, Mentor
"It was far and away one of the best things I've ever been a part of" - Will, University of Nottingham, Mentor
"I have learnt so much from the children and I truly believe the most special thing about Lauriston Lights is the fact that both the mentees and the mentors learn from each other" - Jessica, Goldsmiths University, Mentor
"I would definitely recommend LL to friends and strangers, and I would highlight benefits both to the children we are working with and also to yourself" - Chloe, Cambridge University, Mentor
"I had no teaching experience, little confidence and wondered if I could actually be useful. Now, I'm doing a teaching internship in France, but I wouldn't have been able to get here without my experience with Lauriston Lights." - Pia, Royal Holloway University of London, Mentor
"Being a mentor was a thoroughly rewarding experience, and there was never a dull moment. I really felt like I was giving the mentees a worthwhile experience, and helping them to get a solid footing for secondary school. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is considering it!" Robin, Oxford University, Mentor
“Paras said how much Lauriston Lights built his confidence. The trip to Oxford was great and Paras was inspired about the idea of going to University.” - Vibha Sheth, Parent
“A big benefit was the introduction to many career options that my child wasn't even aware of. A proper barrister come in and have a pretend court with judge, jury and barristers. He came home and said ‘Mum I think I might want to be a barrister!’” - Talat, Parent
“It’s really encouraging that people are taking their time to help younger kids-that they do it without a charge is pretty awesome. Lauriston Lights mentors are a bunch of amazing, enthusiastic young people.” - Marsha, Parent
"The mentoring aspect is a brilliant idea-having a ‘big sister-brother’ as opposed to just parents giving advice and telling kids what to do." - Jeetenara, Parent
"Mentoring made him feel like his thoughts matter and sharing them made him
open up about things that matter to him" Rishikesh, Parent
"My son has been extrememely motivated every morning and has enjoyed the camp so much. It has been great to see him challenged across lots of disciplines" - Susan, Parent
‘He’s more happy and comfortable about starting secondary school’ - Sthefanny, Sibling
"Lauriston Lights is a unique and exciting project. It has involved university students delivering a great programme to children in our local community who would otherwise be bored in the summer holiday. It's been great for Newham, and I think it has a lot of potential to grow much further. " - Stephen Timms MP
“The Lauriston Lights summer camp provides children with a valuable opportunity to build and develop their relational intelligence – a fundamental part of their preparation for adult life. Its very rewarding to be helping to train their committed, highly motivated and inspired team of mentors and to see that confidence and vision passed onto the children.” - Cathy Ota, Education Consultant , Working With Others
We were delighted to work with Lauriston Lights and thoroughly enjoyed our day running drama workshops for such an inspiring charity. The summer camp was run very professionally and in an extremely organised and confident manner. We were impressed by how committed the young, enthusiastic team were to the needs and interests of the children; the activities seemed hugely relevant and engaging, the atmosphere was fun, and there was a clear ethos of learning and self-motivation. The children entered our workshops ready to put in 110% and it was immediately clear to us how inspired and energised they had been by their time at Lauriston Lights.” - Matilda Thaddeus-Johns, Tie Dye Drama Group
"I had a fantastic morning at Lauriston Lights teaching a couple of sessions on paintings from the National Gallery. The children were bright, engaged and enthusiastic. Above all they were curious: not only able to answer the questions I gave, but to ask their own. I was extremely impressed with them and indeed with the whole set up, which was purposeful and well organised, relaxed and very friendly." - Tom Parsons, History of Art Secondary School Teacher
"Lauriston Lights is an exceptional example of young people taking the initiative and providing a transformative opportunity for 11 year olds as they transition from primary to secondary school. This two week course at Beckton, East London, gave forty young people the opportunity to have their horizons expanded enormously, and to see a new world of opportunities open to them if they work hard and aspire. I thoroughly enjoyed my own visit to Lauriston Lights to talk about mindfulness and aspiration – the best thing that has happened to me in August." - Sir Anthony Seldon, Vice-Chancellor, Author and Education Commentator
“I found a school space being put to great use by a team of bright, capable young leaders who had generated a positive, productive atmosphere within a short space of time. The two groups I worked with on Julius Ceasar showed a keen eye for story, an interest in historical parallels and an enthusiasm for speaking Shakespeare's language without fear.” - Chris White, Royal Shakespeare Company
"As an employer of smart graduates I look on people's CVs for examples of where people have looked to really stretch themselves as part of a team , find out about how other people live and through that process become much more aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. Lauriston Lights exposes them to this invaluable experience of both creating life changing experiences for less privileged kids as well as achieving greater self knowledge." - Nick Walford, Partner of Redmandarin
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