The role played by students in the learning process has become a popular topic for discussion within the world of higher education, with attention focusing on the teacher-learner roles embedded in traditional lecture, seminar and even tutorial formats. Together with a movement towards deeper and more active learning strategies, there is concern over students’ involvement in the learning process itself and the possibilities for further empowerment. This paper reports on the experience of developing and sustaining two large final year classes of undergraduate psychology students, both of which include leaderless group discussions and associated peer assessment as an integral part of the learning and assessment procedures. The paper describes the underlying philosophy behind the scheme and its assessment, before outlining the practicalities of running the discussion groups and the lessons which have been learnt over time. Finally, the issues associated with group and selfassessment of students’ contribution to the learning process are considered.