Humanities Summer School 2026

The Humanities Summer School is a FREE three-day residential course engaging students in Year 10 in discussion on the topic of Technology and Human Values. It will be held at St Paul’s School, London from Wednesday 15 to Friday 17 July 2026.

The school is hosted by St Paul’s School in London in partnership with Northeastern University and University College London’s Disagreeing Well Initiative. Participants will use humanities-based approaches, borrowing especially from Philosophy, to ask hard questions about the changing role of technology in our common life. The University of Edinburgh’s Shannon Vallor, author most recently of The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking, will deliver the concluding address and present awards.

This unique course is entirely free to attend and is open to 30 non-fee paying school students from across the UK in year 10 or equivalent. The course is designed for students who are learning at a higher level compared with their peers (on target for 8-9 at GCSE in humanities subject(s)), who also have a passion for the humanities, philosophy and debate. Please read the eligibility criteria below for more information.

Application involves both student and teacher to complete short forms which include short 200 word supporting statements. As this course takes place during term time the teacher nomination is essential as approval must be given by the student’s school.

For the application to be fully considered both students and their nominating teacher must complete their respective application forms linked below. The deadline for application is midnight Thursday 7 May 2026, applications received after this date will not be considered. Successful applicants will be informed of their place by 22 May 2026 at the latest.

Application Forms

These forms do not allow you to save your progress so please complete and submit in one sitting. It is worth preparing the 200 word statements before beginning the application forms to then copy and paste it into the relevant section.

Student Application Form

Teacher Nomination Form

Key Information

Timeline for application: Applications are open until midnight on Thursday 7 May 2026. Students will then be informed if they have secured a place by Friday 22 May. If selected, a parent or carer of the student will then be asked to complete a registration form to confirm attendance.

Dates and times of school: 2pm on Wednesday 15 July to 4pm on Friday 17 July 2026.

Both student application form and teacher nomination form must have all relevant sections completed for the application to be fully considered.

For more information please download this Information Pack.

Eligibility Criteria

• Must attend a UK non-fee paying school
• Must be completing year 10 or equivalent
• Must receive permission from school to attend
• A maximum of two students from any one school will be selected.
• Students from areas of high economic deprivation or low progress to further education skills and training will be prioritised
• Students may apply for more than one of the Summer Schools offered at St Paul’s but may only be accepted on one