A summer to remember for Futureversity students

23 September 2011

Hundreds of students, months of vacation time and a variety of courses contributed to a summer of success at this year’s dynamic and inspirational education scheme for young people, as Jessica Odubayo reports.

Schools and colleges, which would otherwise have sat empty in August, were buzzing with activity in Tower Hamlets and other parts of London during August as young people made the most of the free opportunities offered by Futureversity.

Courses are run in partnership with businesses and taught by experts in their field. Young people anxious to beat the surge in youth unemployment got ahead with career tasters ranging from investment banking to sports leadership, architecture to graphic design. Others enjoyed developing their skills and confidence on fun and creative courses such as dance, song-writing, oil painting and horse riding.

This year, we ran 154 summer courses for 11- to 25-year-olds in Tower Hamlets alone. Participants were supported by Peer otivators – young volunteers who welcome them and assist the course tutors – while the choice of courses on offer was decided by a youth committee, which advises the charity on all aspects of its work.

At the end of each week the charity celebrated the achievements of participants, at a series of events, showcasing their work. At the final showcase of the summer, held at Central Foundation School on 19 August, students put on a gospel music performance, held a catwalk show featuring designs from the fashion and textiles course and held a street dance dance-off.

Akther, 17, who took the architecture course, said: 'I have a deep interest in art and architecture and this course has really helped develop my skills in drawing and learning how to use different materials.'

Another 17-year-old, who completed the youth work training course, said: 'If I wasn’t at Futureversity I’d probably be sleeping in bed, doing nothing.'

An 18-year-old peer motivator added: 'The best thing is seeing everybody arrive in the morning and then seeing them leave at the end of the day, laughing with other young people they’ve just met.'

Jill Doherty, who taught oil painting for beginners, added: 'It’s so rewarding to teach teenagers who really want to be there. I had such an inspiring group of students and feel the experience was beneficial to both the students and myself.'

An investment banking tutor from Barclays Capital, Beverley Allen, said the standard of students was extremely high. Although demand for last year’s Futureversity courses was five times more than the charity could meet, it suffered an 85 per cent cut in provisions, resulting in fewer course places this summer.

In Tower Hamlets there were 2,385 course places available, compared to a staggering 12,946 applications. The charity’s chief executive Sarah Davies said: 'We are deeply concerned that securing funds to run our programmes is becoming so challenging when demand is so high.

'This year, in Tower Hamlets alone, within three days of our enrolments going live, we had filled all 2,364 course places.

'Since then thousands more applications poured in. With youth unemployment sky rocketing in the UK and the frightening unrest we have recently witnessed, we believe it is crucial all young people have free opportunities they can get engaged in.'

Futureversity offers free courses, volunteering opportunities and employability programmes, all year round, to help young people develop their skills and self-belief.

Read the article on East End Life