CATALYST Foundations
An academic course built for curious students aged 10-13 years old.
About CATALYST
CATALYST is an academically rigorous, interactive, and discussion-led summer programme taught by Winchester College teachers. Over two weeks, students immerse themselves in subjects from science and philosophy to artificial intelligence and ethics. Alongside these modules, they work on a Capstone project that develops creativity, problem-solving, and the confidence to communicate ideas with purpose.
How It Works
Each day combines interactive workshops, practical challenges, discussion and creative exploration. Students work in small groups, tackle intriguing questions and discover how different subjects can connect in unexpected ways. Rather than simply learning facts, they learn how to learn: how to investigate a question, spot patterns, solve problems, explain their thinking and work with others.
By the end of the programme, students will have explored new ideas, discovered new interests and developed the confidence to take on challenges with curiosity and imagination. The programme culminates in a project that brings these skills together, allowing students to demonstrate what they have learned through teamwork and presentation.
The Foundations Experience
Taught in small groups, every session is designed to spark curiosity and develop confidence. Lessons are interactive and exploratory, moving far beyond lecture-style delivery. Students learn to test ideas, refine arguments, and approach complex problems from multiple perspectives.
Programme Structure
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Week 1: Explore & Discover
Science & Wonder : Why does the world work the way it does? Explore surprising scientific ideas through experiments, puzzles and investigations. Learn how scientists ask questions, test ideas and make discoveries.
The World of AI
What makes a machine intelligent? Discover how AI works, what it can do and where it gets things wrong. Put your own thinking to the test through games, challenges and creative experiments.Big Questions: What makes someone a good friend? Can something be fair but still feel unfair? What makes us who we are? Explore fascinating questions with no single right answer and learn how to build and explain your own point of view.
Think Like a Detective: Follow clues, spot patterns, challenge assumptions and solve problems. Learn how to look more closely, think logically and recognise when something isn't quite what it seems.
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Week 2: Create & Challenge
People & Planet : How do our choices affect the world around us? Explore the connections between people, communities and the planet through games, challenges and real-world scenarios.
Money & Markets: Why do things cost what they do? How do people decide what to buy? Discover the surprising ideas behind money, trade and decision-making through interactive challenges and games.
Culture & Creativity: Why do people create art, stories, buildings and traditions? Explore how different cultures express ideas and identity, and discover how creativity can change the way we see the world.
Invent & Innovate: Can you design something that solves a real problem? Work in teams to imagine, build, test and improve your own ideas, learning that great solutions rarely happen on the first try.
FOUNDATIONS CHALLENGE
At the heart of CATALYST Foundations is a challenge that brings everything together. Students choose a question, problem or idea that interests them and work with their team to investigate it, develop creative ideas and build a solution. Along the way, they learn how to ask interesting questions, find and evaluate information, think creatively and logically, work effectively as a team, turn ideas into action, explain their thinking clearly and present with confidence.
The experience culminates in a Foundations Showcase, where students share their ideas with peers, teachers and families, a chance to celebrate not just what they have created, but how they have learned to think along the way.
What Students Will Gain
By the end of CATALYST Foundations, students will have greater confidence in asking questions and sharing ideas, stronger problem-solving and creative-thinking skills, and experience working collaboratively with others. They will come away with a broader understanding of the world around them, the confidence to approach unfamiliar challenges, new ways to communicate and explain their thinking, and a sense of curiosity that extends beyond the classroom.
Most importantly, they'll discover that learning isn't just about knowing the right answer. It's about knowing what questions to ask next.
A Foundation for What’s Next
CATALYST Foundations is designed as the first step in the CATALYST journey.
For students who go on to the CATALYST Horizons Programme (ages 14-17), the Foundations experience provides a natural springboard into more advanced interdisciplinary study, debate, independent research and the CATALYST Capstone.
But for every student, the goal is the same: to leave with greater confidence, a bigger sense of what's possible, and a genuine appetite to keep exploring.
Testimonials
“CATALYST took his education to the next level. It helped him develop the skills he needs for senior school and beyond.”
“I gained skills in many different areas: teamwork, how to think at speed and form a solid argument, and how to be pushed out of your comfort zone.”
Book Catalyst foundations (ages 10-13)
£5,750
For a two-week residential course
Dates:
Monday 5th July - Sunday 18th July
Monday 19th July - Sunday 1st August
Frequently Asked Questions
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Every session is interactive and discussion-led, with an emphasis on inquiry and exploration rather than memorisation. Students engage in Socratic dialogue, collaborative problem-solving, and reflective exercises designed to challenge assumptions and encourage original thought. The small group setting ensures personalised feedback and meaningful participation.
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