This spring, Year 5 students at Redriff Primary School took on a big question: What makes a good neighbourhood?

The five-week project was part of their Geography topic on “settlements” and was delivered in partnership with British Land. It was designed to bring classroom learning to life, linking the national curriculum to real-world change happening in the local area. The programme also integrated aspects of maths and art & design, helping to build a broad set of skills and incorporating various learning styles.

Over the term, more than 60 students from two classes explored Canada Water through hands-on research. With support from teachers and British Land’s team, they took part in two in-person workshops, carried out group interviews and conducted fieldwork around Canada Dock. Learners explored the perspectives of people living, working, or visiting the area, from first-time homebuyers and families to business owners, to help answer the question: Is our neighbourhood a good place to live?

The curriculum was co-designed with Redriff staff and included five carefully structured lessons: 

• Research introduction – Delivered by British Land. Students were introduced to the idea of a what makes a “good neighbourhood” and began planning their group fieldwork. 

• Fieldwork planning – Led by teachers, students developed their research questions and interview approaches. 

• Fieldwork at Canada Dock– Pupils gathered insights directly from local people, observing and recording their surroundings. 

• Research analysis – Students returned to class to analyse their findings and create posters. 

• Planning for the future – British Land facilitators returned to help students explore future development scenarios and present their visions. 

Throughout the project, students practiced a wide range of skills – from critical thinking and teamwork to communication and presentation. Their final task was to create a vision for “Canada Water in 2035”: an inclusive and sustainable neighbourhood with green spaces, homes, shops, community infrastructure and places to work and socialise.

Lucy Rowe, Curriculum Lead at Redriff Primary School, said:

“Thank you to everyone at British Land who supported this project. The students were really engaged and got so much out of the fieldwork and workshops. It was a brilliant way to explore their local area and think about how it’s changing. Connecting what they saw on the ground with what they’d been learning in the classroom made the topic feel much more real. There was a real buzz around the changes happening locally, especially with the boardwalk, Corner Corner and the new leisure centre on the way. The feedback from staff has been really positive and we’d love to be involved in something like this again.”

Freddie Broadhurst, Senior Social Impact Manager at British Land, added:

“It’s been fantastic to work with Redriff Primary School on a project that not only supports the curriculum but helps students connect with the changes happening in their local area. We want local people to be part of every stage of the development’s life cycle from learning about the neighbourhood, to shaping its future, to building long-term careers here. This project gave students the chance to hear from a wide range of people living, working and visiting Canada Water, and that’s exactly the kind of insight we want to carry forward to help shape the future of the development.”

This programme also acts as a stepping-stone to further opportunities such as Urban Plan UK and Shaping Southwark’s Future, part of British Land’s wider education offer at Canada Water. These initiatives help equip local people with knowledge, confidence and real-world experience.

By getting involved in the learning opportunities at Canada Water people can build the skillset they need to flourish professionally, either here on the development or beyond. Our hope is for many to put what they’ve learnt to use in the neighbourhood, building a thriving local economy and community at the heart of London’s newest town centre.

Read more about what we’re doing to support the local economy and community here.

British Land has worked with Redriff Primary School on various initiatives in recent years. These have the ‘Naming What’s New’ project for which Year 5 conducted a research project to find out what Canada Water meant to local young people and helped present a short film, and their re-enactment of the 1889 Great Dock Strike where British Land’s Freddie Broadhurst talked about how the development is celebrating Canada Water’s heritage.

Other collaborations with local schools have included funding school improvements and a mobile swimming pool at Redriff and Alfred Salter Schools as part of the Run Canada Water Run fundraising initiative and supporting events for Black History Month at Bacon’s College.