More than 350 young people aged between 13–16 from east London took part in a free two-week Summer School held at Here East at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in August.  

The 2019 EAST Summer School was the biggest yet with free sessions run by world-leading creative, cultural and education organisations for youngsters from Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. The programme of short courses included filmmaking, dance, fashion, computer game design, engineering and architecture. Sessions also included 30 young participants recording birdsong on the Park for an upcoming BBC Prom The Lost Words. Audience members will be invited to participate in the Dawn Chorus section of the concert, by playing the birdsong downloads from their phones.

The summer school programme was organised by the London Legacy Development Corporation with the organisations from the planned culture and education district at East Bank – UCL, UAL’s London College of Fashion, the BBC, Sadler’s Wells, the V&A and the Smithsonian. Other local organisations taking part included Studio Wayne McGregor, Badu, the British Council, The Yard Theatre, Breakin’ Convention, Stratford Circus and Loughborough University London. 

Lyn Garner, Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, said:
“East Summer School is a great way to challenge young minds during the long summer holidays with an amazing range of hands-on courses. I hope those young people will be sufficiently inspired by their courses to come and study at the universities based or coming to east London or to follow careers in the arts and culture.”

EAST Education Summer School – Quotes 

“What I enjoyed the most about East Summer School is that I got a chance to try new activities that I had never tried before, and meet new friends instead of sitting at home doing nothing.”
Mohaiminul Islam Sium, 15 

“I think everyone’s in the same boat so we’re all a little bit shy at first but, once you start to get to know people it’s really nice because you make friends over a short amount of time.”
Ishara Perera-Driver