Award-winning education consultancy and social enterprise Class Of Your Own (COYO) is thrilled to announce the launch of a new school programme in collaboration with Jamie Oliver Restaurants.

The exciting ‘Design a Jamie Oliver Restaurant’ initiative – a legacy to COYO’s 2016 Design Jamie’s challenge – is set to inspire young people by offering them a hands-on experience in the built environment sector, combining food, creativity and well-being through the lens of real-world professionals.

This innovative programme is the latest in COYO’s suite of Design Engineer Construct! (DEC) Awards and will be available free to schools. The programme offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the design, engineering and construction of sustainable spaces while reflecting on Jamie Oliver’s own principles of balanced, health-conscious living.

Led by COYO founder and president of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES), Alison Watson MBE, the programme is supported by leading professional bodies and builds on the success of the original challenge, opening the door to a range of built and natural environment careers.

From menu creation to built environment design

Design a Jamie Oliver Restaurant challenges students to design a four-course menu for Jamie Oliver’s restaurants, applying Jamie’s ethos of nutritious, balanced and delicious food. From there, students will take the next step in their project by designing a restaurant space that reflects Jamie’s commitment to well-being, sustainability and community-focused spaces.

By connecting food with architecture and engineering, the award showcases how the built environment directly influences health and wellbeing. The programme provides students with a deeper understanding of how the spaces we design can positively affect both the people who use them and the environment they inhabit. It offers a hands-on, creative pathway for students to explore careers in design, engineering and construction.

As someone who has inspired the careers of many young people, Jamie Oliver is an advocate for lifelong learning starting in schools. Commenting on the exciting new collaboration, he said:

“It’s brilliant to be teaming up with Class Of Your Own once more for this inspirational programme. The initiative gives kids an insight into some of the different sectors of the design industry in a really fun, accessible, creative way. The winners of the 2016 Design Jamie’s challenge have gone on to such successful careers, which just goes to show what you can achieve with the right support. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our new round of students!”

Design a Jamie Oliver Restaurant draws on the success of COYO’s 2016 design challenge, which saw Clacton Coastal Academy students John Haylett and Sam Boone take top honours. Their ideas for the conversion of one of the Essex coastline’s Martello Towers not only impressed a judging panel of industry experts, but also laid the foundation for their successful careers in the built environment sector. John is now a building surveyor with AtkinsRéalis, while Sam is a building services engineer at Ingleton Wood. Both took the degree apprenticeship route, achieving first class with honours in their respective subjects and demonstrating how practical, real-world projects in school can ignite a passion that leads to a fulfilling professional career.

A celebration of industry support

On Thursday 17 October, a special preview at Jamie Oliver Catherine St, Jamie’s new Covent Garden restaurant, brought together industry and education leaders, including representatives from RIBA, RICS, IAT and DATA, plus professional body presidents who judged the 2016 challenge, to celebrate this exciting new initiative and highlight the importance of supporting digital, creative and technical education in schools.

They discussed how Design a Jamie Oliver Restaurant could reunite the construction industry around the shared goal of inspiring future generations, ensuring that young people can see the possibilities of a career in the built environment.

COYO CEO, Alison Watson MBE, in attendance on the night, commented:

“Different sectors offer a variety of activities to engage young people, but with so many choices, schools can often feel overwhelmed. This new initiative offers a solution by allowing children to take ownership of their learning and create their own exciting project that taps into a wide range of skills and knowledge. Wherever their interest lies, this award helps them start crafting a career pathway based on their own passions and strengths – as John and Sam have demonstrated. The future professional will cross disciplines, and this new project aligns with all our projects, supporting interdisciplinary learning to educate the future of construction.”

Bridging the gap in knowledge and skills

This new award comes at a crucial time for education. Digital, creative and technical subjects are increasingly marginalised in schools, and many students are losing out on the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills needed for careers in the built environment. With the support of industry professionals, COYO’s award-winning DEC learning programme has bridged this gap for well over a decade, providing students and their teachers with an opportunity to explore real-world applications of core subjects and advance to exceptional careers.

From architecture, engineering and construction to surveying, facilities management, sustainable development and data science, these careers are critical to achieving global net zero and environmental goals, creating healthier lives and a healthier planet.