ROK students win prestigious Design Future London competition
14 July 2023
Two students from ROK partner school Edmonton County School have today been named the winners of the Design Future London Challenge, which invited their students to take part in re-imagining the London Borough of Croydon.
Aila Mirkham and Nena Nwojo were announced as the winners of the 16-18 age category during an awards ceremony held at City Hall for their submission, Croydon’s Super Gardens, as well as the winners of the People’s Vote, while fellow Edmonton students Chaquelle Boothe & Amelia Cwiek were highly commended in the same category for their submission, Croydon’s Green Light. Both submissions can be viewed here: https://lnkd.in/eWb2mQRx
ROK was proud to work with Edmonton County to support its students take part in, engage with and complete their projects.
Commenting, Denise Stephenson, CEO and founder of ROK, said:
“I am absolutely ecstatic that our student groups at Edmonton County School were recognised for their hard work, innovation, creativity, sheer determination and simply mind-blowing submissions by both winning and receiving the highly-commended place – as well as winning the People’s Vote – at today’s Design Future London final awards ceremony.
“Nothing could have prepared us for the fact that we came away with three prizes today. The fact that the students had never taken part in anything like this before and managed to walk with that recognition is testimony to them, and the support that they had from their teachers and their volunteer mentors, as well as the guidance of the leadership team in this ROK pilot project.
“What is evident to us is that when you instil confidence and give students the tools to succeed, they soar. I’m really humbled today by their work and their efforts, and the contribution that has been made by the leadership team, the volunteers and the teachers as a community – alongside the support of the GLA – to make this happen.
“Whether or not these young people pursue a career in the built environment, it’s clear that they can do whatever they put their minds to. And that is what ROK is all about: creating those opportunities for young people and watching them take flight.”
ROK would like to thank Grace Pastore of Edmonton County School, Natalie Wells and Prescilla Aroonchellum of the GLA, Julian McIntosh and Shamera Khushi or Julian McIntosh Architects, Sarah Hayford of The Land Collective, Christina Hsieh of We Matter, Diane Fleming, Anna Rowley, the teachers at Oasis Academy South Bank, South Bank University Academy and St Matthews Academy and, of course all the students who took part!