Senior Conference

Key info

  • Dates 23rd – 30th August 2025
  • Venue  Leighton Park School, Reading
  • Cost    £TBC
  • Ages    15 to 18 years old (must be born between 1st September 2007 and 31st August 2011, inclusive)
  • Theme  TBC
  • Number of places Approx. 60
  • Senior Conference Participant Pack

About the event

See also Your first day at Senior Conference

Senior Conference is a spiritual gathering and a Quaker conference run by and for young people aged 15 to 18, a place of friendship, laughter, and reflection, which builds a strong and supportive community over the course of the week, and friendships which last for a lifetime.

Senior Conference is an LGBTQ+ positive event.

During the week we explore the theme with speakers and in small group discussions and activities. Senior Conference also offers a variety of workshops, daily worship, an outing, social events and ample spare time for rest, chat and making new friends.

At the end of the week an “epistle” from everyone at Senior Conference is drafted. The epistle is an informal report that aims to capture the spirit of the week and to describe what happened. Click here to read previous year’s epistles.

Senior Conference is organised and run by the arrangements committee, a group of ten young people appointed by last year’s Conference. They are supported in the planning and organisation by a team of adult volunteers.

Our objective is to build a worshipful Quaker community, which provides a safe space in which young people can grow and learn more about themselves and the Quaker way of being.

We come together for a week of fun, community, worship, and shared explorations of issues and subjects connected to Quakerism.  Each year we explore the theme through sessions with visiting speakers, discussion in Base Groups, worship and other activities. There are also a variety of creative and active workshops, swimming, a day trip to Oxford, and lively evening entertainments.  It usually takes place at Sibford School in Oxfordshire.

FSSE is committed to providing a safe and fun place for young people to explore Quakerism and their spirituality.  Two adult coordinators are responsible for the daily safe running of Senior Conference, although the Conference itself is planned by a committee of young people appointed at last year’s Conference.  They are assisted by a team of adult volunteers all aged 22 or older, who support the young people in the running of their event.

Around ten of the more experienced young people take the roles of Clerks, Elders, Universal Friends, Entertainments and Base Group Facilitator Coordinators to organise and run the event.  Each year, the newly nominated committee meets the previous year’s committee, the two event coordinators and others in the 22+ support team for a handover meeting to agree the theme.  Two subsequent planning meetings are held to plan the event.

Friends Southern Summer Events follows guidelines from Britain Yearly Meeting concerning the safety and well-being of those taking part. All adult volunteers are required to have current, enhanced disclosures from the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly Criminal Records Bureau). Read more about how we aim to keep young people safe. Our safeguarding policy can be downloaded from our policies page. 

If you’re interested in getting involved with FSSE please see our get involved page.

Documents that may be of interest to parents or guardians:

Bursary information

It is our strict policy to ensure that no-one is prevented from attending an FSSE event because of a lack of financial resources. We receive grants and gifts that enable us to support participation by young people who could not otherwise afford the full fees, but the total sum available is limited.

FSSE therefore expects applicants, in the first instance, to seek financial support from their Local/Area Meeting; some Meetings support their young people as a matter of course. For more information, please contact us.