Summer School to help raise aspirations of young people in care

The University of Leicester, De Montfort University and Loughborough University will be hosting their tenth annual Summer School event, which aims to improve the life chances of young people in public care.

The University of Leicester works in partnership with our local universities and agencies with the common aim of offering support, activities and advice for young people in care and their supporters.

Over the last decade, over 140 people from all over the East Midlands have attended the summer school program, with numbers increasing from nine in its first year to 24 in 2014. Care experienced students from each of the universities have been involved as student mentors, including recent University of Leicester Law graduate and former care leaver Brandon Akem who has been a positive role model to many young people as a student mentor on the summer school program. Brandon arrived in the UK aged 16 as an unaccompanied asylum seeker and worked to achieve his goal of studying Law at a high ranking university. Brandon now encourages others to follow a similar path.

This year’s Summer School will be held on 8 July at the University of Leicester and De Montfort University, and 9 July at Loughborough University.