On Thursday, 14 July, 220 Rep London students from 13 schools participated in an activity-fuelled Creativity Quest across five of the Olympic Host Boroughs. On leaving Allen & Overy’s auditorium, each school was tasked with exploring a borough other than their own, to increase the students’ knowledge of the Host Boroughs and to discover why East London is the best place to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Each group certainly found enough evidence to suggest that London 2012 is ideally situated in the East: from historic maritime Greenwich, to artistic Hackney, vibrant Tower Hamlets, leafy Waltham Forest and diverse Newham, each borough offered students numerous sights and venues of interest. The Creativity Quest was designed by A New Direction and delivered by facilitators from Nimble Fish and was packed with engaging activities, many of which introduced the students to the Olympic and Paralympic values. The day proved a great success for students and volunteers alike. Their experiences were documented in a multitude of photos and fantastic flip camera footage which was later displayed at Allen & Overy in a pop-up exhibition.

After a busy day, the students returned to Allen & Overy to attend Rep London’s Awards Evening. The event, which was compered by Susan Hazledine, began with five creative one minute videos of each borough, edited by Eelyn Lee productions from footage taken by every group. Once the laughter had subsided, Dame Janet Paraskeva presented awards to several companies who had received fantastic modular feedback. The awards evening also featured an inspirational presentation from young athlete Paul Lanigan. Sponsored by Allen & Overy, Paul is currently a Target Rifle Shooter for Great Britain and a model of determination.

The climax of the afternoon was the launch of the London Ambassadors volunteering programme by Director of London 2012, Neale Coleman. Working in partnership with the Mayor’s office, Rep London has secured 200 volunteer places to enable the young people to be London Ambassadors at Games Time. The pod, which is still in the design stages, will be based in Spitalfields and, as Neale commented, will be the only pod manned exclusively by young people.

Rep London participants can apply via the volunteering page, and the deadline for all applications is October Half Term.