Royal Docks Academy students take over UEL!

By Chelsea Humphries, Education Project Manager – Education

What happens when you give a group of creative Year 9s some recycled materials and total creative freedom? You get the cities of tomorrow.

On 3 June, UEL’s Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability – in partnership with ELBA – hosted Royal Docks Academy’s Year 9 art class for their annual Innovation and Enterprise Summer Festival. It was a day packed with big ideas, mental wellness and future-gazing.

Here’s how the Year 9s took over UEL:

• Urban planning – In the “It Belongs to Us” workshop (hosted with Art in the Docks), students built their own “15-minute city” models entirely out of recycled materials. An empowering activity that gave young people a real voice and agency about how their community, identity and spaces should look.
• Mindset and movement: “Emotional Intelligence and Resilience: Pathway to Success” activities allowed the Year 9s to take a breather to explore calligraphy and movement – creative tools designed to shake off stress and boost mental wellbeing.
• Exploring the creative hub: To wrap up the day, the group toured UEL’s Architecture and Visual Arts building. UEL students provided guided tours for the Year 9s, sharing their inspirations and giving them an honest glimpse into university life.

A massive thank you to UEL staff and students for hosting such an enriching day. By blending art with sustainability, community spirit and mental health, this festival gave these students a brilliant launchpad to think about environmental stewardship and their own future academic pathways. Thank you to Art in the Docks too.

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