So SSE celebrates 10 whole years since its first programme commenced tonight with a small dinner for the original cohort, staff, trustees and some current students. SSE was founded in 1997 and started its first programme in early 1998, with 20+ individuals in the student cohort (including our current chief exec Alastair Wilson, who was working on a homeless project at the time). Next year, we’re aiming to have an event for all the Fellows to celebrate 10 years since the first programme’s completion (and the first students becoming SSE Fellows).

• For more info, read our press release here
• and Michael Young’s article at the time here

It’s a celebration tonight not only of SSE’s work over the past decade (and a bit) but also of the work of the SSE Fellows themselves, particularly those in the original cohort. In our recent-ish evaluation, 67% of those who replied (which was about half of the 98-99 group) told us that their original organisation was still in existence, which is a pretty stellar survival rate over a decade (compared to normal business survival rates).

It’s always remarkable to me how little SSE’s core offering has changed: refined, improved, amended, added to, and so on, but actually very similar at its core; it will be hugely interesting to chat to some of those original students, and hear about their individual journeys on the programme and in the years afterwards. And there will be cake…….oh yes, there will be cake (kudos to Gayle for keeping it intact).

For your delectation, here’s a selection of photos from over the years: