After finishing my first week as a Laidlaw scholar, I feel so excited having begun designing our project on embedding character development into co-curricular activities. I am so relieved and feel incredibly lucky to be a part of such a friendly cohort, and I have loved meeting with my team, and hearing their thoughtful insights into how best to undertake our project this summer.

There have been a few challenges in establishing a proper direction for our project to take, but all discussion has been that of people supporting and promoting new ideas, rather than shooting down anything suggested, meaning it is a very encouraging environment to work in. As we come from a broad range of academic backgrounds, people are able to shine exciting new lights on the challenge, with different insights on what may be an effective method and why. 

The deadlines of this summer provide a slight challenge, as we are hoping to interview school teachers before the end of term, but this is a great driver to complete readings on the topic, and design effective interview questions and questionnaires. 

I hope to learn lots of new skills from my peers and the staff we are lucky enough to attend seminars with, and am really excited about the journey I am just starting!