November 2025
A Welcome from Professor Mary Evans
It is a real pleasure to introduce this year’s report on the Slade Widening Participation Summer School - a programme that continues to grow in reach, ambition, and impact. Now in its third year, the summer school has become a vibrant and transformative space for young people to explore their creativity, build confidence, and discover new possibilities through art.
We have seen the programme evolve in response to former participants' needs and aspirations and this summer, we were thrilled to welcome our largest cohort yet, with over 50 students joining us from a wide range of backgrounds. The energy, curiosity, and talent they brought to the Slade was truly inspiring and it is deeply rewarding to witness the long-term impact of this initiative. Former participants are now pursuing exciting paths, like Aisha, who has just started her studies at UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture, and another former summer school student who has joined us here at the Slade this September after their experience on the programme. These stories remind us of the power of opportunity and the importance of nurturing potential wherever it is found.
One of the most memorable experiences for our students was visiting the studios of two remarkable Slade alumni: Sir Antony Gormley and Alvaro Barrington. These encounters offered a rare glimpse into the working lives of practising artists and sparked lively, thoughtful conversations about creativity, career paths, and the role of art in society. Throughout the programme our young artists were inspired to take risks, ask questions, and express themselves in ways they may never have imagined possible.
None of this would be possible without the generosity of our donors. Your support is not just financial, it is a vote of confidence in these young artists and in the belief that art should be accessible to all. Thank you for helping us create a space where talent can flourish, regardless of background. You are making a real and lasting difference.
We hope you enjoy this report and the accompanying video, which capture the spirit of the 2025 programme and the incredible journeys it has helped to shape. Thank you for being part of this story.
Warmest wishes,
Professor Mary Evans
Slade Director
Pioneering art education for all
Since its inception in 1871, the Slade School of Fine Art has been a pioneer in inclusive education offering women equal access to artistic training, resulting in an alumni collection where nearly half of the works are by female artists - a distinction that sets us apart from most other art institutions. This commitment to diversity echoes UCL’s founding principles: in 1826, it became the first university in England to welcome students of all faiths, and none.
Today, this ethos of openness continues to shape the Slade’s educational experience, nurturing generations of artists who bring unique and diverse perspectives to their artistic endeavours. Yet despite this commitment to inclusivity, talented individuals from disadvantaged groups still encounter barriers to art education, including a lack of funding, and remain underrepresented across the wider art world.
The Slade Widening Participation Summer School was born out of a mission to challenge this status quo, enabling young and ambitious artists the opportunity to experiment and discover their own artistic voice in an environment that supports and nurtures their creativity and unique identity. Forming part of a wider programme of school outreach initiatives, on-course financial and pastoral support, and ongoing career advice and skills development, the Slade is leading the way in opening up participation in fine arts education and building a pathway to change.
Now in its third year of delivery, we are delighted to share this report and video with you to demonstrate both the difference you have helped to achieve for the young participants on our 2025 programme, and the longer-term outcomes that your funding is helping to deliver as the programme continues to grow and evolve. Without visionary funders like you who understand the impact that can be achieved through a commitment to longer-term goals, none of this would be possible.
“I really like how it's giving me a whole new perspective on things. It's really inspired me.”
Building a lasting legacy of change
In 2025, the summer school programme was once again offered to Year 11, Year 12 and further education (FE) college Level 3 students living in or just outside London who could not otherwise afford to or were culturally less likely to attend an art summer school.
Over two, two-week courses and through a series of workshops guided by practising artists and tutors at our Bloomsbury site, students gained experience in an art studio environment, encouraging experimentation, skills development, and meaningful dialogue with peers and mentors.
Building on feedback from previous participants, we enhanced the content of this year’s programme and strengthened the themes students would work under. Using the body as the focal point, the first week of our 2025 programme offered the students the opportunity to explore a range of mediums, including drawing, painting, 3D scanning, video and costume making, to help them engage with and communicate about the human form. This first week of activities was instruction-led and directive, helping to broaden the students’ experience and knowledge and build their confidence. Week two then led naturally into a period of experimentation and creativity where our participants had the opportunity to work in groups and individually to produce their own projects, fostering skills in collaboration, leadership and independent thinking. As in previous years, the two-week course culminated in an exhibition curated by the students themselves, and we are delighted to share some examples of their excellent creations below.
To complement their learning process and enrich their experience, we have continued to offer support with career and educational development planning as part of the 2025 programme. To achieve this, students undertook art gallery and studio visits, heading to both the Courtauld Gallery and the studios of two Slade alumni – Sir Antony Gormley and Alvaro Barrington. These were valuable experiences that provided insight on different career paths within the art world and an opportunity to see how each artist works and manages their studio. The students greatly appreciated this “real life” engagement and enjoyed lively conversation with Alvaro about his career and their experience on the programme so far.
Looking ahead, from November onwards we will again be delivering our Portfolio Review Days to support participants of the programme to explore the next stages of their educational journey. These follow-on workshops are crucial in maintaining momentum after the summer school has ended, helping students to consider the options available to them and enact steps to achieve their goals, from writing a UCAS statement to refining their portfolio. Engagement with these workshops has been a useful stepping stone for many of our former participants, helping some to apply to other institutions and others to explore opportunities within UCL, including one former participant who has recently started her undergraduate degree at the Slade, and Aisha, whose journey we are pleased to share below.
“Something really different for me was getting to explore so many new art techniques that I don’t usually have the chance to do at school, and the guidance from the staff and support team made a huge difference in my learning.”
Aisha: two years on
In 2023, we shared the story of Aisha – a young student due to start her AS-Level in Fine Art in the autumn of that year. Aisha was thrilled to participate in the 2023 summer school, having applied because she was impressed by how experimental and open the Slade are in their approach, and she wanted to explore new ways of expressing ideas through art and design.
Aisha found the experience more than met these expectations, and she was given plenty of opportunities to explore techniques she had not tried before from sound workshops and use of moving images to experimenting with materials like wood and screws. She learned to think in a different way and to use art as a way of questioning and exploring ideas rather than just producing finished outcomes.
Following the programme, Aisha was inspired to explore further opportunities at UCL and we are delighted to share that she successfully applied for a place at The Bartlett School of Architecture, commencing her undergraduate degree with us in October this year.
“I was drawn to The Bartlett because of its interdisciplinary and experimental approach to architecture. I love how it encourages students to think conceptually and critically about space, design, and the world around them, much like the mindset I developed during the Slade Summer School.”
For Aisha, her experience on the summer school played an important role in this success, supporting her through her application to The Bartlett and the development of her body of work through the Portfolio Review Sessions. We are thrilled that she is continuing her educational journey with UCL and, as the summer school programme continues to grow and evolve, hope to see many more participants engaging with art and art-related courses at UCL and beyond in the years to come.
The impact you have made in 2025
This year we were delighted to receive over 100 applications from students for a place on the summer school; an increase of almost 25% on last year’s applicant numbers. With such demand and excitement around the programme, we were pleased to offer more places than ever before with 53 young people participating in the 2025 summer school. This included:
- 44 female, 7 male and 2 non-binary participants. While we know that a higher percentage of women study art, women and non-binary artists are still under-represented in galleries.
- 32 participants from non-white backgrounds.
- 23 participants from families where the parents have not experienced further education.
- 10 participants from single parent households.
- 19 participants that self-identified with physical disabilities and/or neurodivergences.
It is testament to the hard work of the Slade’s educational team, and the summer school’s unique offering, that it continues to grow in popularity helping to attract more diverse groups to the field of art. The Slade’s proactive efforts to build partnerships with schools and FE colleges in and around London have played an important role in achieving these results, but the outcomes of the summer school also speak for themselves with students (and their teachers) sharing their positive experiences with peers who are not familiar with the Slade and the summer school, helping to raise the profile of the programme and the empowering and inspiring environment it provides to participants. None of this would have been possible without your generous support and we are excited to see how engagement with the programme develops in the years ahead.
“Absolutely love love LOVED this summer school, it was SUPER fun and I will cherish this experience and will definitely be applying next summer!”
Artwork created this year
Making a difference together
Since its inception, the Slade Widening Participation Summer School has welcomed cohorts of eager students excited to delve into new experiences and explore their creative talents, free of the financial barriers that can prevent many young people from accessing opportunities that are readily available to others.
The 2025 programme has been no exception to this, and it has been heartwarming to hear feedback from our participants about the difference the summer school has made for them this year: how it has changed their perspective, opened their eyes to new possibilities, and helped them to be brave and take more risks. But not only has the experience stretched and challenged them, they have also had fun and made friends.
We cannot thank you enough for enabling so many young people to have such a meaningful experience. Philanthropy plays such a crucial role in opening up opportunities to anyone with ambition and talent, and we are so pleased to be working together with you to achieve change and make art education accessible to all.
Thank you for being part of a community of disruptive thinking and radical inclusion.
Philanthropically founded, UCL is a home for disruptive thinkers. Now, nearly 200 years later, that spirit of disruption and inclusion is driving our future, helping UCL multiply and accelerate its local, national and global impact. Since its inception in 1871 the Slade has been at the forefront of developments in the field of contemporary art and welcomed students from all over the world.
For more information on how you can support the artists of tomorrow, please contact:
Kate Birch
Head of Development (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)
t: +44 (0)20 8138 7005 | e: kate.birch@ucl.ac.uk
UCL Office of the Vice-President (Advancement)
University College London
Gower Street
London, WC1E 6BT
T +44 (0)20 3108 3833
ucl.ac.uk/giving
Find out more
The School achieved a perfect score in the guide which ranks universities in the UK by subject, looking at student satisfaction, staff numbers, spending and career prospects.
Slade Director Mary Evans has been commissioned to create work in dialogue with the Gallery's collection as part of "Artists First: Contemporary Perspectives on Portraiture".
The goal of our widening participation programme is to develop pathways that help improve the diversity of students.
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