On Wednesday 19 June, 10 Scholars made their way to the launch of the RIBA Architecture Programme Scheme at the RIBA Headquarters on Portland Place. In collaboration with RIBA and St Marylebone the programme runs from 2024-25 and sees our Scholars’ partner with the renowned architectural studio, MAKE, to tackle a challenge centred on sustainability. Students will engage in a series of workshops and trips throughout the programme, culminating in the Summer Term 2025.  Here is a short summary written by the students of what they got up to: 

From mid-day, we had set out to walk under the pleasurable weather conditions, which made the walk quite enjoyable, to RIBA headquarters. When we arrived, we were greeted and paired with 2 girls, of our age, from Marylebone school. They were very approachable and easy to work with. After we had finished our lunch there, we were taken on a tour around the place. I loved the architecture of the building and especially the tall marble pillars, stretching from one floor to another. One of my favourite parts was looking through there Raise the Roof exhibition addressing the colonial history of London. However, my favourite part was designing and building an educational centre with our team. It was fun to share ideas and sketch them out on a large paper, and then experimenting in different ways on how to construct these parts with the materials we had been given. It was overall a very enjoyable and fun experience filled with educational learning and entertainment. By Ahona S, Lower Fourth

Going on our trip to RIBA was an inspiring and incredible opportunity for anyone interested in the topic of architecture. We were shown around their extensive library that was filled with books surrounding architecture, this was an amazing experience. We were then shown around their current exhibition which was gorgeous and a wonderful experience. Finally, we  where tasked with designing and creating an eco-friendly educational space, my group created a library space out of cardboard and got to present it to our peers. This trip was very inspiring and has set us all up to continue our architecture journey, it is incredibly exciting to think about what is yet to come. By Liberty K, Lower Fourth

Firstly, we met with Marylebone School at the RIBA headquarters. We were taken on a tour through it, and we saw the magnificent library and an exhibit on colonisation throughout architecture. We then went back to the top and we were put into groups of two FHS students and to Marylebone students. Afterwards we started constructing a building that had eco-friendly solutions to pollution problems. At the end, we presented our buildings to the rest of the group. I really enjoyed building as we got to work as a team and construct an amazing structure. Overall, this was a fantastic way to start our architecture journey and I can’t wait for the next time. By Hannah Z, Lower Fourth

Ms Bere, Assistant Head Teaching, Learning and Innovation