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The Longford Trust

The Longford Trust Annual Report 2024

The Longford Trust supports people with convictions to access higher education as a route to rehabilitation and reintegration. Named after Frank Longford, the penal reform campaigner, the Trust awards Longford Scholarships to prison leavers studying undergraduate degrees, and Frank Awards to fund Open University modules for serving prisoners. In 2024, 35 new scholarships were awarded — a record — from 220 expressions of interest, with 86 scholars in total supported. Fewer than 5% of scholars return to prison. The Frank Awards reached their 10th anniversary in 2024 with 153 total recipients. 95% of scholars said their mentor made a difference to their success. The annual Longford Lecture in 2024 was delivered by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to an audience of 650 plus 1,000 via livestream, with National Prison Radio broadcasting into every prison cell in the country.

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Longford Scholarships for prison leavers studying undergraduate degrees; Frank Awards funding Open University modules for serving prisoners; volunteer mentoring programme; Employability programme (workshops, internships, disclosure support); Patrick Pakenham Awards (law work experience); Nat Billington Awards (laptops and digital access); Noah Box initiative for new scholars; Longford Lecture and Prize; Pinter Poem award; 21 prison visits to raise awareness in 2024 Custom geography from upload: England and Wales

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 35 new scholarships awarded in 2024 — a record high, chosen from 220 expressions of interest — with 86 Longford Scholars in total supported across undergraduate degree programmes
Key Metric 2 23 Frank Awards given in 2024 (a record high), bringing the total since 2014 to 153; 82% of funded OU module completers passed, with 15% receiving distinctions
Key Metric 3 Fewer than 5% of Longford scholars return to prison; 95% of scholars said their mentor had made a difference to their chances of success (2024 independent evaluation)

Key Outcomes

  • Fewer than 5% of Longford scholars return to prison, against a national reoffending backdrop where this rate is significantly higher — and just under 85% of award-holders go on to graduate or move into graduate-level employment, demonstrating that higher education is a highly effective and cost-efficient rehabilitation pathway
  • 23 Frank Awards were given in 2024 — a record — bringing the total since 2014 to 153, with 82% of OU module completers passing and more than half going on to further study; eight Frank Award recipients have progressed to full Longford Scholarships, creating a direct pipeline from in-prison study to university degree
  • The 2024 graduating cohort of 17 scholars achieved a range of Firsts, 2:1s and 2:2 grades, with graduates entering film production, banking, law, construction, events management, and media — and two scholars placed on a prestigious writers' retreat in Italy — demonstrating outcomes far beyond expectation for individuals the system had written off

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