A Ship of Adventures has been launched by a team of young pirates, as part of a creative learning experience in Hackney.
A boat hanging from the ceiling, a telephone delivering inspirational messages from the “young pirates”, and a cosy underwater cave are just some of the design features at pioneering educational charity The Hackney Pirates’ new headquarters in Kingsland High Street.
The charity works with children aged 9-12 who have been referred by education partners for extra support to develop their literacy and confidence through one-to-one mentoring support from its 250 volunteers.
The youngsters work on real-world publishing projects like books, CDs and websites in the unconventional learning environment.
Hackney Pirates was previously based in Downham Road since it launched in 2010, but the four-storey former Centreprise building in Kingsland High Street has been transformed with the help of designers Camillia Langoux and Ben Reynolds.
Catriona Maclay, Hackney Pirates Founder, said: “Part of the importance of the launch of the building and its shop is that we can show off our young pirates’ creative work to the world.
“They can say “I am a published author, and you can buy my book at the Ship of Adventures”.
She continued: “They are also reminded of the potential that they have every time they come here after school and see their work celebrated on our shelves.
“We believe in doing things in a space which is exciting and which inspires the idea that learning is a grand adventure, where discovery and wonder are an essential part of learning.”
In the past four years the charity has delivered over 12,000 hours of one-to-one teaching to 150 students, with 93 per cent of their teachers agreeing the project has had a positive impact.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here