Forum topic: Saving an old school to help a new generation of young people flourish

Residents are being invited to contribute ideas to a project to reopen a historic school building in Edmonton as a community hub which will provide training opportunities for young people in the borough.

The Charity School in March 2020 (Enfield Society)

The former Girls’ Charity School and the adjacent schoolmistress's cottage at No. 24 Church Street, near Edmonton Green station, are Grade II listed historic buildings on the Heritage at Risk Register.

The building, notable for the statue of a schoolgirl in an alcove on the front wall, served as a school between 1793 and 1904. Between then and when it closed around ten years ago it was used for various roles in the community, primarily as a space for various educational aids for children and adults in need of financial assistance.

With help from the Enfield Society, in 2020 the London Historic Buildings Trust carried out an appraisal study to identify the best way to regenerate the site for the benefit of the local community. It is now working in conjunction with the Learning for Life Charity on a project to create a café and community hub designed to improve life opportunities for young people:

We are delighted to share that we’re regenerating a former girls’ charity school in Enfield, which was originally constructed in 1793.

With the help of our project partner, the London Historic Buildings Trust, we will breathe new life into this iconic building so it can once again provide learning, training and employment opportunities for young people in our community.

The building will be turned into a bijou café, where young people will gain work experience, as well as a meeting space, cinema, and a hub for school activities. The centre will provide opportunities for young people with SEND, or who are unemployed/socially excluded to access work experience and develop key employability skills.

Source: Learning for Life Charity website

The project has been given the title Life in the Community and will include sensitive repair and restoration of the building. It is receiving funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund for the development phase, which is working towards obtaining the substantial funding that will be needed to carry out sensitive repair and restoration of the building. The development phase involves research into the building and the local area, including seeking input from people who may have used the building in the past or who have ideas for its future.