Rebecca Hayes
London Development Agency
Olympic Legacy Directorate
21st Floor, One Churchill Place, Canary Wharf
London, E14 5LN
email -
Dear Ms Hayes,
The FSC London Education Centre
FSC’s Proposal to develop a London Built-Environment Education Centre
As a FSC member, I am writing in support of the Field Studies Council’s (FSC) proposals to establish a residential built-environment education centre in relation to the current consultation on the legacy plans for the Olympic Park.
As you may already know, the FSC was established in 1943 as a charity. It has since become internationally respected for its 17 field centres in the UK with over 100,000 visitors attending day and residential courses every year. You may also be interested to know that the FSC has been involved in the successful residential visit element of the London Challenge project since 2003, during which it worked with over 34,000 Key Stage 3 pupils from 310 of London’s secondary schools.It has also launched pioneering projects such as London Outdoor Science and Schools in the Parks which are supporting local secondary schools to use their parks and open spaces. In short, FSC’s expertise in providing high quality outdoor educationto young people from London, the UK and overseas is proven.
I understand that the FSC would like to develop a world-leading centre of excellence in built-environment education specialising in education for sustainable development, enabling young people to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens through the development of positive out-of-classroom educational experiences in sites and communities in East London. The London Education Centre would become a long-lasting and dynamic education resource which maintains and sustains the Olympic legacy for many years to come.
By being located in East London the FSC hope to engage young people between the ages of 11-16 who are often hard to reach. This is particularly relevant to this area due to the population’s ethnic diversity and especially sincemany of the neighbouring areas are among England’s most deprived in terms of income, employment, health, and education. Having the London Education Centre in London would enable young people in this category to enjoy an out-of-classroom experience that would not have been possible due to the economic and cultural restraints of sending children to one of our centres outside of London.
The London Education Centrewould be focussed on using local people and places as the major teaching resource, for example capturing and using oral histories through long-term inhabitants of the boroughs. Such a centre would thereby exploit the unique opportunity of the Olympic Park post-2012 to develop an educational provision which blends curriculum subjects with broader education needs within an urban context. This project also has long-term viability as it will overcome local barriers such as funding by sustaining itself through other income streams such as running residential courses for schools and groups from outside London and the UK.
The University of East London recently published the results of a feasibility study which found that the proposal has received overwhelming support from London schools, teachers and stakeholders. The study found that the viability of The London Education Centrearises from its potential for multiple uses as an education and residential centre for both the local community, as well as visitors from around the country and abroad. I would now also like to add my support to the FSC’s vision and would encourage you to ensure that the FSC residential urban education centre is taken into consideration and include it in any future Olympic legacy plans. Finally, I would be grateful if you could consider my comments in this letter as a formal response to the current legacy consultation.
Yours sincerely,