The Autumn Young Ireland Programme will take place at Western House Hotel, Ayr, Scotland, from Tuesday 13 - Friday 16 October 2026.

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We returned to Wychwood Park Hotel in Crewe last week for the Autumn Young England and Wales Programme. The title England and Wales Young Thinker of the Year 2026 was awarded to Alissa Sattentau from the Howard League for Penal Reform.

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Temperatures were soaring once again last week, when we welcomed the Irish delegation to Western House Hotel in Ayr for the Summer Young Ireland Programme. Although the sun was blazing, delegates maintained a commendable level of enthusiasm for the many challenges presented to them!

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You would be forgiven for believing the recent Young Scotland Programme had taken place in tropical climes - temperatures in Ayrshire soared to an unseasonably warm 25˚C!

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Last week in Crewe, Niamh Callaghan from Ofsted won the title England and Wales Young Thinker of the Year 2026. Her winning paper looked at the impact of prison education.

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Twenty-eight teams took part in the Young Local Authority of the Year 2026 competition in early March. The event took place in the majestic setting of Crewe Hall Hotel in Crewe.

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Brian O’Keeffe, of the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, won the title Ireland Young Thinker of the Year 2026, for a mature paper on the subject of deepfakes and democracy.

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Janine McClintock from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs won the title Scotland and Northern Ireland Young Thinker of the Year 2025 in Ayr last week (18-21 November).

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Last week in Lancaster (23-26 September), Tamlin Cave from Ofsted won the title England and Wales Young Thinker of the Year 2025.

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Thirty-six delegates from Irish government departments and organisations came together last week (24 - 27 June) for our Summer Young Ireland Programme. The event was held at Western House Hotel in Ayr, Scotland.

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Harriet Thompson from The British Academy won the title England and Wales Young Thinker of the Year 2025 in Lancaster last week (29 April - 2 May).

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Thirty-two teams took part in the Young Local Authority of the Year 2025 competition in early March. Each team researched, wrote and delivered a six-minute Argument paper on a subject, of their own choice, of current interest or controversy. Each team also took on two other challenges: Pride of Place (POP) and On the Spot (OTS). In POP, each team had two minutes to tell the audience about something for which its local authority area is distinguished. And for OTS, each team asked itself a question and then answered it without notes in as close to two minutes as possible.

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It seems to be a tradition that our first two events of the year come immediately after dismal stormy weather – making the organisers a bundle of nerves!

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Katie Watson of Dumfries and Galloway Council won the title Scotland Young Thinker of the Year in Ayr last week (26-29 November 2024).

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On Sunday 27 October, some of the team at the Young Programme – Islay, Mairi Clare (and family), Josh, Marie and Ryan – took part in Moira's Run in Queen's Park in Glasgow. It would be fair to say that we aren’t seasoned runners and some of us don’t visit the gym as often as we perhaps could do. However, after Bea Jones, mother of Moira, shared her story at a recent England and Wales Programme, we all wanted to do something to support the incredible work of The Moira Fund. And then Mairi Clare signed us up for the annual 5K run!

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A delegate from the civil service won the title England and Wales Young Thinker of the Year in Lancaster last week. The adjudicator commented: ‘Well-written with panache, this paper was strengthened by the use of excellent testimony – it provided a much-needed human dimension.

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Why choose the Young Programme? The Young Programme, established in 2002, began with the Young Scotland Programme in Glasgow and expanded across the UK and Ireland by 2005. Our unique initiative offers intensive three-day events focused on public speaking, debate, group discussion, and presentations from thought-provoking speakers.

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Despite a week of unpredictable weather - sun, rain, wind - we had a memorable time last week at Western House Hotel in Ayr for the Young Ireland Programme.

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Congratulations to Tegan McEwan from Scottish Water on winning the title Scotland Young Thinker of the Year at the Young Scotland Programme last week.

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Our congratulations go to Fiona Asokacitta of the The British Academy on winning the title England and Wales Young Thinker of the Year.

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A well-written and spirited paper calling for Britain to embrace change, and two mini-presentations – one on LGBT+ rights and one on whether its is possible to be a feminist fashion consumer

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Delegates from Ireland, Scotland, and Northern Ireland managed to dodge the storms for three days of debate, discussion, papers, speakers and team work.

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