Learning to make holograms underpins the University of Southampton’s Foundation Photonics course. The Foundation year enables students to develop the skills necessary to gain access to a University degree in Engineering or Physics. The week-long Photonics course utilizes a problem-based learning approach and aims to boost student motivation and increase the Foundation course student retention rate. It is anticipated that by 2010 the number of students taking part in the Photonics course will have almost tripled since it was piloted in 2005. This paper reports on the development of the course, outlining some of the challenges and opportunities associated with educating a diverse student body and managing large numbers of students making holograms