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Not just philosophy, not just for home edders. Residential and day tickets still available. 1 hour from London by train.Who: This is open to all aged 11 to 18.
Where: The Sir John Lowther Scout Centre, Kettering, located within it’s own 10 acre woodland with an adjoining conservation area of meadows, woodland and fields.
Where you’ll be sleeping: You’ll be sleeping in rooms that have between 2 and 8 beds with those of the same gender and roughly same age. Non-binary people let us know what you’re comfortable with. The venue provides bedding EXCEPT PILLOWS. If you know someone else who is coming and you’d particularly like to share a room with them, let us know and we’ll do our best to make the jigsaw work.
What you'll be doing
These are mostly half-day courses, morning or afternoon, so you'll usually get to do four of them. A couple of whole day courses span morning and afternoon sessions. In the evenings we’ll be doing other stuff either together or with choices you can make on the day.
You get to rank your choices and then Jason does a complicated jigsaw to satisfy as many choices as possible. We haven't worked out which courses are happening on which day yet, and there are some more courses still to be added - watch this space!
A selection of October Courses is below
But Oh! That Deep Romantic Chasm
A morning with Romantic poets isn’t as romantic as it sounds - there’s only ONE way to appreciate Nature according to Dorothy Wordsworth, and it involves mud....To understand the ideology which informed English Romanticism, we will worship the picturesque, dissect our feelings, boast of our genius, cry, and fight some duels. Oh yes, and write quite brilliant poetry. Ah!
It's Me
Who are you, really? In this expressive art session, we’ll dive into the strange, shifting territory of identity, persona and self-expression. We’ll handle deep concepts such as masks, costume and the 15 little people that live inside our heads. We will explore the concept of the sense of self and how art can manifest your inner being, bring out your voice and gift you confidence.
Tea for Two
How did a cup of Chinese boiled leaves become Britain’s favourite drink? From afternoon tea to bubble tea, this drink has played a big part in Britain’s social, cultural and economic life for 400 years. Today we shall try out tea rituals from different times and places and write and perform a ‘teatime drama’. Come and spend some time with the famous ‘cup that cheers, but does not inebriate’.
How to Be Wrong
For centuries, humans have built whole systems of thought on foundations that later turned out to be sand. The universe revolving around the Earth, the “science” of phrenology, the divine mandate claimed for apartheid—belief systems that once seemed solid, even obvious, now look like staggering mistakes. But how did so many clever people get it so wrong for so long?
We’ll explore some of history’s grandest errors: how they arose, why they were so convincing, and what kept them alive despite mounting doubts. We’ll look at the role of authority, tradition, and fear in sustaining false beliefs, and ask what today’s unquestioned certainties might look like to future generations.
Through case studies, debates and a little playful speculation, you’ll see how wrongness isn’t just about individual mistakes—it’s about whole cultures backing the wrong horse. By the end, you’ll have a sharper eye for spotting the flaws in apparently watertight systems—and a healthy humility about the possibility that we, too, may still be wrong.
A Brief History of Games
Why do we play? This is a question that has puzzled psychologists for centuries. Play is an essential aspect of our daily routine but what is it about play that makes this so? In this project you’ll address these questions whilst also learning about the types of game we indulge in and whether juxtaposing ‘work’ and ‘play’ is really necessary. You’ll witness how games have changed, with special reference to the transition from tabletop to the virtual. You’ll also have the opportunity to make a game and, time permitting, participate in one another’s play design.
The Interpretation of Screams
Why was Little Hans so afraid of horses? Perhaps you prefer to think about what Pavlov fed his dogs. In this course you will explore different aspects of psychology. You will have the chance to learn about famous experiments from all aspects of psychological history, from the courageous to the bizarre, to the downright unethical. Would you allow them to go ahead? What would you do if you were faced with the same challenges?
The £1,278,000,000,000 Question
The UK government will spend almost £1.3 trillion this year. Understand where it comes from and where it goes and see what ideas you have for plugging the £75 billion gap between the taxes gathered in and the spending going out. This course is a mix of political philosophy and the detail of how politics and the economy are managed in the UK in 2025. Find out where you sit on the political map and see where in the world matches your worldview, and then see what you would do differently if you were in Number 10. By the time you’ve read this far, the UK will have borrowed another £50,000!
Half-Baked Ideas
Learn the fundamentals of public speaking by preparing a talk about something fundamentally ridiculous! An absurd proposal, far-fetched conspiracy theory, little-known and less-believable fact or if you prefer, a genuine, deep-rooted passion. You can let your words speak for themselves, or support your case with printouts, flipcharts, whiteboards, or even a PowerPoint presentation. Afterwards, you can have a crack at impromptu speaking, taking turns giving short speeches that revolve entirely around responding to slides you haven't seen in advance as if you're the expert! Your speeches may not be very informative, but they’ll definitely be funny!
D&D
A fantasy role-playing micro-adventure to enjoy face-to-face with an expert Dungeon Master (DM). Bring a character you've already created for our online classes or be someone new. If you've not D&Ded before, you'll have a chance to check in with our DM before the session to talk you through the basics so you are ready for the adventure!
Blood on the Clocktower
A demon has been unleashed upon the sleepy town of Ravenswood Bluff, killing by night and taking on human form by day! Led by a devious storyteller, Blood on the Clocktower is a game of murder and mystery, lies and logic, deduction and deception. Each player receives either a ‘good’ or ‘evil’ token with their unique character on it. Good players share information to solve the mystery whilst evil players lie about who they are and what they know. Can good find the demon in time? Or will evil overrun this once peaceful town?
The Great Gift Grand Prix
Ready, set, build! In The Great Gift Grand Prix you’ll design and construct your own model race car before putting it to the test on the track. But this isn’t just any race—it’s an engineering challenge with a twist – your machines will accelerate through a seires of different motors - does your machine run best on the spring of a twisted elastic band, the puff of a balloon, the buzz of a little motor, or some ingenious hybrid of your own design?
You’ll need speed, stamina, and a dash of style to claim victory in the GGGP, as cars battle it out in head-to-head heats and endurance trials. Along the way, you’ll explore the different ways energy can be stored and released, see how design choices affect performance, and discover just how much fun physics becomes when it’s rolling on four wheels.
At the finish line, there can be only one winner of the Great Gift Grand Prix—but every racer will leave with a creation they’ve engineered themselves, and the thrill of watching it fly down the track.
The Actor’s Nightmare
You’re on stage. The lights are up. The audience is waiting. In your hand is a script you’ve never seen before—and the person opposite you isn’t reading their lines at all, they’re making it up as they go along. Welcome to The Actor’s Nightmare.
In this improv course we’ll play with the delicious chaos that happens when one performer sticks to a real script and the other has to improvise around it. Can you keep the scene flowing when nothing quite matches up? Can you turn the confusion into comedy, or the clash into unexpected drama?
We’ll experiment with different scripts, styles and scenarios, from high tragedy to low farce, and discover how unpredictability can spark some of the most memorable theatre. By the end, you’ll know the thrill of being utterly lost on stage—and finding your way through anyway.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
John Lowther Scout Centre, Northamptonshire, Sir John Lowther County Scout Centre, Kettering, NN14 1, United Kingdom
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