About our programme

Filling the gaps left by the modern educational system

Schools now prioritise passing tests over real intellectual development. We developed a programme to restore focus, rigour and inter-connectivity to education.

We started the Ascham Fellowship because students deserve the quality of education that used to be standard.

When Roger Ascham, distinguished Classical scholar and educational theorist, published his work The Scholemaster, he introduced the world to a new theory of education, one based around mutual respect between teacher and student, small-group learning and rigorous instruction. Nowadays, we have drifted away from these aims; teaching is orientated only towards passing exams, the different subjects are siloed, preventing any intellectual crossover, and students rarely have the chance to digest full works in favour of extracts.

At the Ascham Fellowship, we aim to revive the old aims of learning. Our programme is multi-disciplinary and focused on developing deep understanding of our intellectual traditions through the study of great works of literature, music, architecture and more.

Our experience with the supervision (tutorial) system at Cambridge led us to think that working on big problems in small groups is the ideal way to learn. Our goal is to bring the dynamism, creativity and rigour of an Oxbridge education to students of all ages.

What We Believe

There's no depth without breadth

We explore the connections between the arts, humanities and sciences to tell an intellectual history that is complete and multi-faceted.

Small classes foster great ideas

Our Oxbridge-inspired small-group system fosters feedback and engagement not just with the instructor, but amongst the students themselves.

Aim higher than just grades

Schools are geared towards making exam grades but we look beyond that, aiming to take our students into elite institutions and conversations that would otherwise be cut off from them.

Questions are better than answers

Our programme is designed to strengthen the mind, not to list facts. Our students aren't trained to listen passively, but to learn how to engage in intellectual discourse akin to the top universities.

Founders

Jacob Haddo

Jacob Haddo

Founder and Director of Teaching

Jacob is a historical researcher, writer and tutor. His Cambridge background and years of experience tutoring and teaching small groups across both the humanities and sciences guide the way the Fellowship's classes operate.

His favourite artworks are the poems of Catullus, Michelangelo's David and Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Charles Scott

Charles Scott

Founder and Director of Operations

Charles is an engineer with a passion for theatre and the arts. His extensive volunteering work with children and young people helps him design and implement the Fellowship's teaching and learning systems in an efficient and student-friendly manner.

He is a fan of Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, the London theatre scene and the architecture of Sir Christopher Wren.

Samuel Tarr

Samuel Tarr

Founder and Director of Curriculum

Samuel is a current History of Science PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge with extensive academic experience all across the humanities. He uses his breadth of knowledge to lead the overall design and maintenance of our curriculum as well as teaching his specialities.

He spends his time reading A. E. Housman's poetry, painting Cambridge cityscapes and learning languages.

Curious whether The Ascham Fellowship is right for your child?

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