Young City Makers

Ages: 8-11

Young City Makers

Across in-school workshops and a trip in the city, this programme pairs primary schools with architecture practice to bring learning to life. Students develop their collaboration and model-making skills, together with their understanding of their role in shaping their city.

A shared celebration event brings teachers, students and parents together to enjoy their achievements and develop their public speaking skills. They also each collect a ‘key to the city’ medal and a personal certificate.

This academic year, this programme will run in multiple locations, across both London and Birmingham. In London, we have 4 programmes - in East London, Brent, Westminster, and one in Hammersmith & Fulham. With no government funding, we are extremely grateful for the support of our sponsors for making this programme possible.

To find out how this could happen in your school, please email Sarah@open-city.org.uk

In-School Workshops
City Visits
Celebration Events

“At first I thought an architect just drew the house, but I didn’t know they had to think about everything: the materials, the shape, the space, where everything would go and even the colour.”

Callum, Year 6 student
“Every primary school kid should have a week or a couple of weeks being exposed to Open City programmes"

Tom, School Governor
"I have had several of my pupils tell me they now want to be architects, so I'd say it's had a pretty huge impact! It has also shown them that maths and art have practical applications"

Christopher, Teacher
"I would definitely recommend this project to other schools. We got to see actual buildings and real models and it sparked my lots of ideas for our own creations"

Salima, Year 5 student
“The students, as always, thoroughly enjoyed both the site visits and the workshops. It broadened their understanding of their built environment and the world of potential work. The curriculum links for us were strongest in Design & Technology and Art although there were also good links made with Geography and History, particularly in our local area.”

Finbarr, Teacher
“On a personal level, the programme has helped me to develop confidence and soft skills, like building rapport with the children and altering my communication style to suit their understanding. On a professional level, it's always beneficial to view architecture through the lens of someone who isn't in the industry, like a child. Their curiosity and inquisitiveness definitely made me think about how I answer questions or explain concepts.”

Michaela, Architect
“I think sometimes, kids of this age think that talking about cities is for someone else, that it's very much a grown up thing. But of course, it's not because they're as active in the city, if not more active than adults. So their ideas about what's needed and what may be needed for them is really interesting."

Tom, School Governor