CREATIVITY
SKILLS
PASSION
CHARACTER
SERVICE
ACTIONS
Speak
Louder
than
Grades
To recognise, develop and celebrate the potential of every citizen.*
*We are all Citizens
Founder & CEO
A note from our founder
Citizens is for anyone who has ever felt unsure of themselves, unseen, or unappreciated for all they are and can be. Giving young people the tools they need to be fully seen is the beating heart of Citizens.
If that is its heart, then it’s head is my PhD research on Global Citizenship Education, youth development, and the UNSDGs. My research showed me that if we are to move education beyond the mechanistic focus on academics and exams, we need to first acknowledge that we hold a deep-rooted bias toward metrics and benchmarks.
And it’s clear that we measure what we value. So I believe that when we begin to measure skills, character, and service—and benchmark them in meaningful ways— we can shift education toward a more holistic view of youth development.
This shift is a necessity. Our new era demands more than knowledge alone. We face increasingly complex problems, from climate change to AI, migration to social inequality. These are challenges that will require the best of humanity - critical thinking, strong character, and a sense of service.
To meet these challenges we need to nurture a generation that understands the importance of serving a community larger than themselves, with all the rights and responsibilities that come with it.
That’s why I created Citizens - to give young people the tools to show how they’re already capable of changing the world around them with everything from small everyday steps to community-shaping action. If you’ve read this far - then chances are you agree with me that this is something we need. So thank you for your interest and support - I look forward to building this more hopeful future together.
We cannot and must not define education purely in terms of academic success.
We must nurture and value the whole person.
this will require a fundamental shift in what we value in education - an urgent task we can no longer afford to delay."
Our Honorary Patron, Sir Anthony Seldon
Honorary Patron
I have long championed the need to redefine what we value in education. We continue to focus narrowly on academic success, leaving many young people’s talents, creativity, and character untapped. This mechanistic approach fails our students and our society. It does not prepare students for the modern world, let alone the world of the future, and it completely disregards the intrinsic value in education, and its transformative role in guiding young people to fulfilling and meaningful lives.
By recognising skills, values, and contributions beyond the classroom, Citizens gives young people the opportunity to shine in ways traditional education often overlooks. It does so in ways that match the rigour and seriousness of academic results - our best hope of systems change.
As Citizens' Honorary Patron, I am proud to support their vital mission to transform education and ensure every young person can thrive.
Founded by research into Youth Development at UCL’s Institute of Education, the world’s leading university for education research.
Codesigned by students and educators globally, supported by funding from the UK’s national innovation agency, Innovate UK.
Founding principles rooted in social contribution, with a B Corp certification ensuring we ‘meet the highest standards of social and environmental impact’.
“Citizens has the potential not just to elevate the story schools tell about their ethos and development of young people, but to act as an accelerant to global youth action.”
“I LOVE my Citizens profile. I like that you can record anything, not just the pigeonhole requirements of a particular programme, and the visuals are so powerful. It’s a lot more interesting than a CV - it tells you so much more about me than exam grades and a few placements.”
OUR Manifesto
IF WE MEASURE WHAT WE VALUE, WHY DO GRADES DOMINATE EDUCATION? THEY DO NOT CAPTURE THE HEART OF OUR SCHOOLS, THE UNIQUE POTENTIAL WITHIN EACH STUDENT, OR THE COMMON HUMANITY WE STRIVE TO ADVANCE.
THIS COMMON HUMANITY IS NOT A NAIVE IDEAL, BUT A NECESSITY IN OUR TIME OF DANGER AND UNCERTAINTY. A TIME WHEN IT’S EASY TO SHRINK INTO OURSELVES, TO FEEL PESSIMISTIC, EVEN POWERLESS. BUT GREAT PROGRESS OFTEN COMES IN TIMES OF GREAT ADVERSITY. IT ONLY NEEDS COMMITTED CITIZENS, THE EDUCATORS THAT CULTIVATE THEM, AND OUR WILL TO ACT.
EVERY CITIZEN HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE THE WORLD AROUND THEM. EXAMS CANNOT MEASURE IT, NOR GRADES RECOGNISE IT. IT LIVES IN THOSE UNIQUELY PERSONAL EXPRESSIONS OF PRINCIPLE, CREATIVITY AND GRIT WE CALL CHARACTER. NURTURING THIS IS THE TRUE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION AND THE CALLING OF EVERY EDUCATOR: TO MOVE EACH GENERATION FORWARD AND TO LEAVE OUR COLLECTIVE HUMANITY BETTER THAN WE FOUND IT.
WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LET GRADES DOMINATE EDUCATION ANY LONGER. WE MUST RECOGNISE ACTIONS - BOTH THOSE THAT CHANGE THE WORLD, AND THOSE THAT CHANGE OURSELVES. WE MUST DO THIS NOT JUST BECAUSE THE CAREERS OF THE FUTURE WILL NEED IT - ALTHOUGH THEY WILL; AND NOT JUST BECAUSE TEACHERS, STUDENTS, AND PARENTS HUNGER FOR IT - ALTHOUGH THEY DO. WE MUST DO THIS BECAUSE THE SUCCESS AND SURVIVAL OF FUTURE GENERATIONS DEPENDS ON IT.
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN GRADES, AND EVERY ACT COUNTS.
Let’s change what we value in education.
