NEW YOUTH JUSTICE STATISTICS: why it matters when 42% of children sentenced have no recorded ethnicity READ NOW

Join Our Big Conversation about Second Chances

The Longford Blog is an all-year-round conversation – about, amongst other things, prison, the criminal justice system, and what a difference education can make in turning (prison) sentences into degrees as our Longford scholars are all doing. This Blog page is an opportunity for our scholars (like Gavin, pictured above) who are at the heart of what we do - as well as our mentors and others involved in the scholarship programme - to share first-hand experiences and ideas for change.

If you have something you’d like to say, find out how at office@longfordtrust.org

Greenwich university buildings and green grass

From Bangor to the Big City: why change works

Author: | 24 Feb 2026

What happens when you’ve chosen your university and your course, but life takes a turn and you need more family and friend support around you?… Read More

Two bearded men smiling, in a coffee shop

‘In mentoring insight arrives quietly and stays’

Author: | 10 Feb 2026

Mentoring is crucial in our Longford Scholarships, alongside financial and employability support. Scholar Fedor, doing a Creative Writing degree, and his mentor Alistair began meeting… Read More

Why it matters when 42% of children sentenced have no recorded ethnicity

Author: | 30 Jan 2026

Official figures published this week raise fresh concerns about youngsters in prisons, the subject of Dame Rachel de Souza’s recent Longford Lecture, according to our… Read More

Woman wearing a graduate gown carrying a large bouquet of red roses

‘If I want to change, I have to start it’

Author: | 20 Jan 2026

When our scholar Sania was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, she thought everything had ended. ‘I believed I had lost every… Read More

Turning Sentences Into Degrees