School outreach project wins top architectural education award
19 May 2026
Shape my School, a project inspiring children to co-design their school spaces, wins Thornton Education Trust (TET) award
A Welsh School of Architecture outreach project helping schoolchildren to shape their learning environment has won a TET Inspire Future Generations Education Award.
Dr Hiral Patel, Director of Engagement at the Welsh School of Architecture, said: “We are delighted to have won the prestigious TET award as a recognition of our commitment to civic engagement."
When we invite pupils to co-design the spaces they use every day in their schools, something powerful happens — their confidence grows, their ideas flourish, and they begin to see themselves as future designers and changemakers. Shape My School shows the immense value created when universities, the public sector, businesses and communities come together with a shared purpose. It brings together our research, education and civic engagement into one meaningful programme that creates lasting impact for pupils, schools and society as a whole.
Over the past two years, Shape My School has sparked creativity in classrooms, helping more than 700 primary pupils imagine themselves as future designers and co-create improvements to their school environments.
The programme is based on tried-and-tested, curriculum-aligned design workshops that include hands-on drawing, model-making, site investigation, and role-playing activities. Pupils work directly with industry partners — gaining confidence, creative skills, and early awareness of careers in the built environment.
At Adamsdown Primary School, one of the 12 schools participating in the 2025 project cycle, more than fifty Year 3 and 4 pupils co-designed enhancements to an underused outdoor area to support learning and play.
Mrs Emma Thomas, Head Teacher, said: “It has really proven to the children that there is value in their ideas and their creativity that has been developed through their workshops”.
Based on their ideas, which included Minecraft-themed planters, learning boards and gardening spaces, leading sustainable construction agency VINCI redesigned the space, repositioning fences and repurposing unused bike shelters into outdoor learning zones.
During the renovation, the pupils painted plant pots and decorated stones for the garden, building a strong sense of ownership and pride in the revitalised space.
The pupils said they most liked: “our teamwork and our build”, “learning about the houses and roofs”, and “everything”, while the contractors noted that “the workshop covered all elements of the curriculum – maths, English, Welsh, engaging and communicating”.
PhD graduate Reem Okasha said: “Working on Shape My School as both a researcher and student ambassador was a truly rewarding experience. It gave me the chance to contribute to a programme with real social impact and collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders. I saw first-hand how pupils can shape changes in their school environment and work confidently with industry professionals."
Seeing their ideas become real interventions filled pupils with pride and was one of the most meaningful parts of the project. Shape My School shows what is possible when universities, the local council, industry partners and schools work together. Co-design becomes a powerful learning experience, builds skills, raises awareness of built environment careers, and delivers tangible social value in schools.
Based on co-creating social value, the programme is a cross-sector collaboration between the Welsh School of Architecture and The Cardiff Commitment – a city-wide initiative led by Cardiff Council’s Education & Economic Development directorate that aims to ensure children in Cardiff have access to the support, opportunities and experiences they need to thrive in education and transition successfully into work, industry partners and local primary schools.
Shape My School provides an opportunity to the private, public and third sector to collaborate with purpose for sustained periods, avoiding ad-hoc tokenistic engagement. It is planned, considered, and has meaningful outcomes for all stakeholders, most importantly the young people involved.
The award was announced in January 2026 in London and the Shape My School programme was presented at a subsequent event in the TET Dialogue series on 10 March 2026.
The third annual cycle of Shape My School has now launched, working again with the Cardiff Commitment team, and six local primary schools. Alongside this, the team have embarked on a project funded by the Cardiff University Future Generations Engagement Fund to create Shape My School resources for pupils with additional learning needs.
The project is part of an ambitious portfolio of educational engagement initiatives run by the Welsh School of Architecture, which also includes the Community Gateway partnership, nominated for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community in The Times Higher Education Awards 2025, and the second Cardiff Xmas Kids Lights project.
