18-23 August 2026, Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire
Our first Leadership School took place in Ingestre Hall from 18-23 August, with a cohort of 32 participants and 10 volunteer facilitators and trainers. We’ve never done it before, and the recipe was a real experiment. The participants were from a range of struggles, all selected on the basis of their readiness for taking on increased roles of responsibility and leadership within their organisations. The programme was diverse yet intensive, in true TWT style.
We covered the range of capacities leaders need, no matter where they’re organising. That meant fundamentals of Marxist theory, like political economy and dialectics; deep social work, exploring the nature of comradeship as a political relation and consciousness raising. It meant practical nuts and bolts, like running effective meetings, public speaking and understanding what makes resilient organisations; and strategic analysis of the conjuncture and the tools we need to plan impactful interventions. And it meant a grounding in our historical moment, deepening an appreciation for the fortifying power of the socialist legacies we inherit - by the end of the week, the Internationale was sounding exquisite (in four part harmony!). We sought to mix culture, relational work, strategy, theory and practical skills continuously and thoroughly. It was our first go, and we learned a lot… but we think we nailed it. Here’s what some participants said:
“This was, genuinely, the best educational experience I've ever had. I left feeling reinvigorated, situated within historical struggle as well as a part of a present day network, armed with political and cultural knowledge, optimistic and ready to apply it to my own organisational context.”
“My time at TWT’s leadership school has been transformational. My ways of thinking have been positively challenged and my organising has been improved as a result.”
“The investment you will make in your people by sending them to the TWT Leadership School really cannot be understated. Personally I’ve come away with practical advice, a better theoretical understanding and a broader network of people who are advancing our movements. Don’t take my word for it, send just one person you trust; their feedback will inspire you to try and send as many as you can.”
How did we do this? We delivered it with 100% volunteer labour from a small, very committed group. A full-price place for the 6-day, catered residential in this (opens in a new tab) stunning 17th century mansion was £600. TWT subsidised most of the places, several of them for the full cost, because we prioritised bringing together participants that we thought would benefit most, regardless of whether they came from well funded organisations.
We got some funding from the wonderful Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust. As anticipated, In the end we made a loss of around £10k. This was anticipated: we knew that to prove that this school was doable, valuable, and that TWT is the right organisation to run it, we’d have to take a hit.
The team are now turning their attention to the question: How can we make it financially sustainable? We want to improve the school, repeat it, and run it at least once a year. Hopefully with this proof of concept, next time we will be able to attract more people from organisations with the budgets to cover organisers without budget, get more grant funding to reflect the investment in the movement that it provides, and run the school without making a loss.