Visiting Argent College
Just opposite 30-34 Vittoria Street we discovered Argent College, a school that specialises in offering high quality education to students with special learning needs aged 16-25. Being part of the Ruskin Mill Trust, an organisation that operates five independent colleges and other residential and training spaces throughout the country for students with learning difficulties.
The Practical Skills Therapeutic Education method that the Ruskin Mill Trust adopted is proved to be extremely efficient. Students are given the chance to grasp abstract notions and ideas through practical work - whether that is gardening, cooking, jewellery making, felting or even candle-making. This approach enables and empowers students to overcome their barriers to learning and gain confidence, while creating useful objects and assimilating invaluable life skills. Through that, young people are encouraged to take challenges and widen their skill-base by taking part in different work experience programmes. The majority of them are also achieving accredited qualifications to support their personal goals and aspirations.
We have visited Argent College as part of a study trip that our lecturers organised earlier in October. That's when we got to explore the micro urban farm that the college has built on their rooftop, as well as their restaurant and social enterprise called The Hive. The tour has been amazing, so yesterday, a colleague and myself decided to go back. We were welcomed by one of the tutors, and have been given a quick tour of the college's facilities. Our guide has been incredibly helpful and welcoming, and we had an extremely informative and inspiring discussion.
I was really keen on exploring the facilities that the students are given, as well as the way the space has been designed and adapted to suit their needs. I was pleased to see the whole range of different spaces especially organised for each class, with all the teaching and learning materials provided. The fact that the whole building is accessible for wheelchair users is also great to see. However, I couldn't help but notice a lack of interior design principles applied in making the learning spaces engaging and comfortable. Do not get me wrong - I loved the activities, materials and I think the college has invaluable resources, however as a student designer, I consider design plays an incredibly important role in the human perception of spaces, and the way people interact with each other within a space. As a result, I believe that with a little bit of design thinking and principles applied to the building, the learning space would be able to reach its true potential, and both the students and tutors would benefit from that.
Here are some of the photographs that I have taken during our visit at the college.
