The achievements of more than 250 students who took part in the EAST Summer School were celebrated at a virtual Final Celebration event held from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Thursday 20 August. 

The event, hosted by two members of the youth steering group who helped organise the summer school, included awards for Best Contributor, Most Dedicated, Most Engaged, Most Resilient, Most Effort Made, Most Impressive, Most Creative, Most Professional and Most Funny. 

The awards were presented by Lyn Garner, LLDC Chief Executive, Sukhvinder Kaur, LLDC Board Member and Rachel Blake, Deputy Mayor Tower Hamlets, as well as representatives from East Bank organisations.

During August more than 250 young people aged between 13-16 from east London took part in a free three-week Summer School, which was held virtually for the first time from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Exciting courses on offer included coding, dance, fashion, game design, engineering and architecture. The East Summer School was attended by young people from Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest, with free sessions run by world-leading creative, cultural and education organisations.

Summer School courses were delivered by world-leading organisations, such as the BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, University College London who will be moving to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as part of East Bank. Other partners included Studio Wayne McGregor, Idverde, Jess and Morgs, Class Of Your Own, The Yard Theatre, The Landscape Institute, British Council, Staffordshire University London, Badu Sports and Catalyst in Communities, along with Art Clubbers and The People Speak both supported by The Foundation for FutureLondon & City of London. Guests were made up of participants, parents, partners and stakeholders who also got a chance to see some of the work produced during the three week summer school.

Layla Conway, Senior Communities Manager, London Legacy Development Corporation, said: “It’s been a brilliant three weeks and this is a great way to celebrate. Now I want to bottle all this enthusiasm and inspiration! It would be great to see the young people coming back to the Park in a few years to study here or take up one of the many exciting jobs.”

Quotes from participants:

Roshaine, Newham, 15 years old. Winner of Most Engaged

“I first attended the very first EAST Summer School when I was 13, even though it was online this year I was impressed by the different courses on offer. I took part in three courses, and improved my communication skills, how to present in front of others, and how to be more creative. I really enjoyed meeting new people, doing group work but also being able to create my own stuff independently. I want to be a film maker and feel that gained key skills that will help me in this profession. I have had such a good time again this year and can’t wait to come back next year.” 

Kelsie, Newham, 12 years old. Nominated for Most Dedicated Category

“As a result of Summer School I feel more confident with saying how I feel and expressing my opinion, I learnt that no one is going to judge you on what you have to say. I want to inspire other young people to have their voices heard.” 

Jarrell, Hackney, 14 years old. Winner of Most Resilient Category

“It was amazing taking part in Summer school this year, I took part in Design the Future and Move Build Code course, it was so good hearing form professionals and designing something from scratch. I really enjoyed learning how to programme microbits to movement and felt a huge sense of achievement when I completed it. It was great to socialise with other young people coming out of lockdown and I would definitely take part in Summer School again.” 

Kelis, Hackney, 16 years old. Nominated for the Most Effort Made Category

“It was really hard when schools just ended and being in year 11 I will never go back so it was nice to be able to meet new people through zoom, I learnt a lot about future careers and the fact that I can have multiple job roles in the future, it has inspired me to work harder and to do things that I am passionate about.” 

Matas, Waltham Forest, 12 Nominated for Most Engaged Category

“I really enjoyed summer school this year and would defintley come back again, I really enjoyed the London College of Fashion course where I learnt about the sustainability of fashion and desiging a playground as part of design with nature I felt like the courses helped me to be even more creative and express my ideas.”