Student Section

The CLEFT Student Section is a national body of University Student Ambassadors who fundraise and help to spread the word of CLEFT through events in their local and regional areas. We are passionate about helping those who are born with cleft lip, palate and other craniofacial abnormalities around the world and believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity to appropriate treatment and care.

Patricia Rorison represented CLEFT at the BLAPRAS Conference

Barts and the London Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgical Society National Undergraduate Conference 2024. Read more

Student Events - All You Need to Know!

If you are planning on running a event, either to fundraise or to raise awareness of the work we do, we would love to hear what your plans are so please register your event here. If you'd like to sell tickets on the CLEFT website to your event, advertise on one of CLEFT's social media platforms or order extra merchandise for your event, we can also help you with all that too - find out more here! Read more

Links with the British Dental Students' Associations

CLEFT was very proud to have been elected the BDSA’s Chosen Charity for 2021/22. Not only did this mean that CLEFT was the recipient of a generous donation of just under £3,000 but this connection also helped to spread awareness of the work we do to this important body of students. As possible cleft professionals of the future, we were delighted to forge a relationship with the BDSA. Read more

Information Booklets

All the information you need about your role as student ambassador and about fundraising can be downloaded from here. Two booklets are available digitally: the 'Student Section Information Booklet' and the 'Student Section Fundraising Booklet'. Read more

Fundraising support

If you are planning on holding an event, you may need some extra support from CLEFT HQ. Click here to find out how to order extra merchandise, create a post on social media or set up a ticketed event on the CLEFT website. Read more

Students - we need you!

We are always happy to hear from new students who would like to get involved and help fundraise and raise awareness. Find out more here about how to apply to be a student ambassador and how you can help. Read more

Latest

Serpentine Six Mile Swim Challenge!

I am raising money to support the vital research projects that are championed by CLEFT.
Matthew's Swim Serpentine Challenge

Support Matthew as he Swims the Half-Mile Swim Serpentine for CLEFT on Saturday 14th September in London's Hyde Park.
Tallulah Denyer raising money for CLEFT

I am raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.
Nefer's Taking on the Serpentine Lake

Nefer is thrilled to participate in the Swim Serpentine 2024 1-Mile Challenge, where she will swim a full lap of the iconic Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, London, to raise money for CLEFT. This event is an exciting opportunity for Nefer to combine her love of swimming with her passion for supporting those affected by cleft conditions

National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery

We are working with Bangladeshi specialists at the new National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery to create a sustainable centre to treat children with cleft lip and palate.
Our mission

CLEFT was established in 2007 with one aim, to help improve the lives of children born with cleft lip and palate, either by funding research into the likely causes of the condition or by helping support teams in lower and middle income countries.
Nawrin and the C-Arm

This important piece of equipment was supplied by CLEFT and is used to see moving images of the cleft palate. Nawrin is a 13 year old girl who was experiencing speech difficulties and needed the C-Arm to show the cleft team if further surgery was required.
Donate

You can make a one-off donation today or sign up to giving a regular monthly gift. All donations, small or large, will help us to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate both now and in the future. 100% of your donation today will go towards funding an international or research project thanks to a charitable trust covering all our administrative costs until February 2025.
About us

CLEFT was established in 2007 by cleft surgeon Brian Sommerlad - based at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, together with a former patient and a patient's grandmother.
Our research vision

At CLEFT, our vision is of a future where clefts are preventable. Until we get there, we want to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate.
Trusts and Foundations

Today, 1-in-700 babies in the UK are born with a cleft lip and palate, the most common form of birth defect. The impact on a child’s life as they grow is profound. Typically, they will need at least four operations. They may also require ongoing tests, treatment or therapy. It will affect the way they look but also their speech, hearing and dental development. It can leave deep psychological scars.
The genetics of cleft lip and palate

Investigations into the genetics of cleft lip and palate to understand more about why cleft lip and palate occurs.
Brian Sommerlad, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Chair of Trustees

For over 40 years, I have been involved in operating on babies, children and adults who have been born with cleft lip and/or palate.
FOXF2 gene discovery

A genetic defect has been identified in a family from Egypt with a type of palate abnormality and speech disorder apparently not previously described. The FOXF2 research is one of the many projects currently funded by CLEFT, paid for with money raised by our donors and fundraisers.