What should an education be?
Nurturing community, entrepreneurship, positive relationships and character for William Ellis pupils and LaSWAP students - and building the evidence, year on year, that it works.
The William Ellis Trust is an independent charity that brings together the school’s supporters, alumni, parents and local partners, for the benefit of William Ellis pupils and the local Camden community.
We believe the philosophy set out by the school's founder of broad academic education alongside real character development is as relevant now as it was in the nineteenth century. This year was our first as a fully public charity. Here's some highlights of what the first year has already produced.
Our first year:
• Boyhood: Sixteen pupils made a five-part podcast about growing up as a boy in Camden today — and it's already reached BBC London News, three local papers, and an invitation to the National Boys' Impact Conference this September.
• Community: Our alumni network has grown significantly, as has the number of people making regular donations to support our work through the Rather Use Than Fame Club. We have built and supported relationships with local organisations, and over 140 people attending our relaunch event in October 2025.
• Entrepreneurial Skills: Much of our work is designed to build agency within pupils, as well as practical support such as backing staff-led projects teaching the practicalities of being changemakers through our staff innovation fund.
Read our first annual review of our work here.
See some of what we’re current fundraising for here.
Join our mailing list here to be kept up with the latest news on our work.
News and Updates
Our news section is full of the latest news about the Trust, our work and the successes of our pupils.
Our Mission
Our mission is to help William Ellis School become a recognised leader in comprehensive education, by funding, developing and supporting initiatives that foster confidence and cohesion, personal growth and wellbeing, positive masculinity, social capital, and ultimately a sense of belonging among pupils. Our work particularly focuses on those from under-resourced backgrounds.
We're inspired by the potential of William Ellis pupils, and young people across the borough, to become tomorrow's leaders, and we champion student leadership within our own work.
Our strategy has three parts: Boyhood, Community and Entrepreneurial Skills. Through each, we help pupils build a working idea of what it means to become a successful adult with a strong sense of their community, and the skills to act on the change they want to see.
Our Vision
We believe there's value in the school's approach to boyhood and adolescence for a far wider audience than William Ellis itself. We see a future in which the expertise built here continues to support other schools in the borough, and helps shape the wider conversation, regionally and nationally, on how we support today's boys into becoming tomorrow's successful men.
That future has already started: this September, the team behind our podcast project has been invited to present it at the national Boys' Impact Conference, so other schools can learn from what's worked here.
We also envision a strong community of alumni, former parents and other supporters working together to open up opportunities for pupils
William Ellis School: An introduction
William Ellis is the only all boy state secondary school in Camden, and takes in students from across North London. It is a highly diverse and inclusive community with students from many different cultural backgrounds. The school is located on Highgate Road in the Gospel Oak area of North-West London and it adjoins Parliament Hill. The school has a rich heritage which you can learn more about here. At sixth form it is part of the co-educational and highly regarded LaSWAP consortium with three other local secondary schools.
Today the school is a centre of excellence for boys’ education, and is a founding member of the London Boys’ School Network. Boys achieve better results at William Ellis then at any other school in Camden, and significantly better than national averages. It prides itself on providing a rich academic curriculum and in the honest, robust and caring relationships that develop between adults and pupils at the school. You can learn more about the school on its own website here.
Our Values
Collaboration
We work in partnership because progress is rarely made alone . This term, that means a new partnership with Football Beyond Borders, bringing a charity that's already supported thousands of young people nationally into a William Ellis pupil's week and learning from their exprerts.
Aspiration
We firmly believe in the potential of
students at William Ellis and within Camden. We recognise the challenges young people face in the world today, and are committed to helping build a community that empowers our young people to achieve regardless of circumstance.
Integrity
We hold ourselves to the same standard we ask of our pupils. Publishing our first annual review this year was part of that by being open about what we've done and what we haven't, not just what we're planning.
Contact Us
The Trust is a resource for the whole school community. If you are interested in supporting any area of our work please get in touch. We would love to hear from you.