We are privileged to have worked with Pears Foundation since they provided a founding grant for the Centre for Holocaust Education in 2008. Importantly, Pears have never been ‘just’ a funder. Their investment extends beyond the financial to include championing our evidence-based approach; supporting our educational principles; and offering wise counsel and sage advice. Thanks to this partnership, we have transformed how the Holocaust is taught and learnt about in England. We are proud that tens of thousands of teachers and a generation of schoolchildren have benefited from the vision, the trust, and the belief Pears’ have placed and continue to place in us and our partnership.
A note of appreciation to Pears Foundation from Dr Michael Spence, UCL’s President & Provost
UCL is incredibly fortunate to have found such a dedicated partner as Pears Foundation. Their generosity leaves no doubt in their commitment to our shared hope for a better future. Our relationship represents what true philanthropy should be, a partnership and a collaboration between two institutions with shared values and goals.
Pears Foundation has been generously supporting our work since 2008. As of 2026, their cumulative support of over £17 million has advanced research and impact across a wide range of UCL projects. Our partnership has a broad focus and reaches across UCL faculties, ranging from Education to Social and Historical Sciences to Medical Sciences. Although varied, a common thread is that each project contributes to meaningful societal change through research excellence and commitment to dissemination and community engagement. Whether the project has been launched in a lab, a classroom or a research centre, all of our ideas translate into actions that travel beyond our London base.
The Centre for Holocaust Education is an example of the diverse and substantial support the foundation offers. Established in 2008, the Centre has been a hub for research, public outreach and training the next generation of educators. With continued investment, Pears Foundation has helped make a fundamental change in how students are taught about the Holocaust nationally and worldwide, tackling entrenched misconceptions and startling gaps in knowledge.
Sir Trevor Pears CMG, Executive Chair, Pears Foundation, commented:
UCL’s insistence on first conducting the largest-ever study of secondary school teachers before designing the Centre’s programme was transformative:
It not only changed the narrative nationally for Holocaust education but changed the way we work, prompting us to increase our focus on building an evidence base to underpin the work we fund.
“Our partnership with UCL is one of Pears Foundation’s longest-standing and most wide-ranging. For nearly two decades, we have supported, and learned from, some of the UK’s finest minds. Whatever challenge we explore, UCL brings curiosity, insight, rigorous evidence, and thoughtful challenge. From classrooms and science labs to policy-making, the work we support bridges the gap between academic research and the wider world. We are proud to work alongside people who share our commitment to making a real difference.”
The Centre forms part of a wider portfolio of initiatives supported by Pears Foundation across several UCL Faculties. Further information on the depth and breadth of the Foundation’s engagement can be found here: Pears Foundation and UCL