We believe that all children deserve to fulfil their potential

The Social Problem: By the age of 11 at primary school, two highly able children will have very different chances in life depending on their socio-economic background. There is a huge achievement gap between the haves and have-nots in education generally - it is least addressed in high ability children. By the time it is, it's too late.
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The Solution: Our programme offers early intervention for highly able children from low socioeconomic backgrounds in Year 7 and Year 8 during the crucial transitional phase between primary and secondary school onwards. Currently nothing else tackles the social problem identified through an initial and then continuing intervention at this age.
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The Model: On the transition summer camp, we bring together highly able children from low socio-economic backgrounds with university students. We provide a research based approach based on proven strategies to develop mentees’ higher order thinking skills, relational intelligence, character strengths and the realisation of their potential.

Impact: Our vision is for highly able children from low socio-economic backgrounds achieve the same academic success and personal fulfilment as their more privileged peers at secondary school onwards.

Have a look below to see what we get up to
at our camps!

Philosophy for Children

Philosophy for Children (P4C) is a revolutionary way of teaching and learning that is gaining traction all over the U.K. Children learn to formulate their own philosophical questions using a story or a piece of art as a stimulus, and discuss the question as a group with a volunteer acting as a facilitator. Questions that have come up in Lauriston Lights P4C sessions have included 'Is war ever justified?', 'What is love?', and 'Is it ever ok to lie?'

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Subject Based Workshops

Every mentor has the opportunity to lead a workshop based around the subject that they study at university. We think that this is a great way to introduce children to new ideas and to show the passion that someone they respect has for an academic subject. In the past we have had moving workshops on decision making in the First World War, fun 'egg parachute' workshops that introduced children to the idea of different forces and material properties, and a thought-provoking introduction to linguistics, amongst many more.

Character Building

At Lauriston Lights, we incorporate the increasingly widespread concept of character education through specialised character workshops designed by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues. Explorative rather than prescriptive, these workshops give children a chance to think about what constitutes a character strength and how they can show them in their own lives.

Mentoring

We believe that every child's thoughts deserve respect and attention. That's why each child on Lauriston Lights has a student mentor who shares their interests and meets with them each day to talk to them about what's on their mind: their aspirations, worries, or anything else they want to mull over with someone. Together, mentors and children work towards an 'about me' project where children envision what they want to be like when they grow up, and how they can get there.

Debating

Debating accustoms children to public speaking, and encourages them to consider views other than their own. The difference in standard between the first and final debates is a real testament to how much our children can improve in just two weeks.

The final debate in 2014 was held in the Cambridge Union's famous chamber.

External Workshops

Every year people and organisations give their time to inspire and engage the children on Lauriston Lights. In the past we've had workshops on Julius Caesar from the Royal Shakespeare Company, mindfulness from Sir Anthony Seldon, and art history from Tom Parsons. Pictured are children putting together a cross-examination with barristers from Serle Court chambers.

“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

What can you do to help?

There's a lot of ways you can support us and get involved

Be a donor

We never charge children to attend Lauriston Lights summer camps, and all funds go straight to the children. If you would like to make a donation, please email Adam at seldon.lauristonlights@gmail.com

Be a partner

As Lauriston Lights expands and grows, we are always looking for advice, office space, and schools interested in hosting a Lauriston Lights camp. If you are interested in working with us, please email us at lauristonlights@gmail.com

Be a mentor

Applications are now open for summer 2021! To find out more and to apply, go to this page.

On social media.

What we do

We bring together university students with bright children from low socio-economic backgrounds in a programme designed to fulfil their potential both personally and academically.