Community Life

Pupils at a Newham school have been taking part in a project which could see them do just that.

The five and six-year-olds at Woodgrange Infants in Forest Gate spent two weeks working with designers and architects to bring their ideas to life.

Ideas reflected

They have created 3D models out of paper, card, paint and glitter which the developers themselves are going to take a look at.

The hope is that they will take these suggestions on board and reflect them in the way Stratford changes over the next four years.

The The City of the Future project is the brainchild of Stratford City Education Officer Ruth Lydall.

She explained why it is so important that the young people of east London feel they have a connection to the site.

Yellow brick cycle lanes

"We want them to take ownership of the area, of the new city, and feel like they're going to be the citizens of the future for Stratford

"So these are the people we want to live there, work there and spend their time there."

This pupil wants an ice-cream shop

Some of the more outlandish ideas have included a city of pink buildings, yellow brick cycle lanes and another West Ham Park, for when the original gets overcrowded.

But among the fantasy and fun, there have been some serious ideas which Ms Lydall has been delighted with.

"They had supervised play areas for when their parents were shopping, another one had no cars, it just had trains stations and cycle lanes through it. There were lots and lots of creative ways of making houses and flats -  making sure that they were separate from industry and the busy areas, and close to schools.

Educational benefits

"I’ve been blown away by the children's effort and their ideas.

"I think it's really important for developers to listen to children; because otherwise the children are not going to connect with city."

And the educational benefits of the project have also been noted by the school.

Sheila George, Assistant Head at Woodgrange, explained: "It's seeing something through all the way.

"I think every area of the curriculum has been covered. It started with just listening and speaking – so 'what would you like to see in the new Stratford City? What would your ideal city be?'"

Children's future

“Then they used maths looking at shapes, space and measurements; creativity, design technology and science. And then that was turned into the cities.”

But Mrs George also hopes there is more to this project than cutting and pasting.

"All the children's ideas are to be sent to the developers and we hope that the developers will take note of what the children's ideas are.

"It's the children's future and they should be taken notice of."

Chris Grocock from developers Lend Lease, the Olympic Village developers, said he was impressed by the children's ideas.

He added: "This kind of partnership working is central to our ongoing consultation with the local community

"The children covered all the bases and set a high standard for the type of community we want to generate as part of the Legacy for the Athletes Village."