Three scholarships to study at Ravensbourne have been awarded to three young people in a collaboration between Ravensbourne and Accumulate, a social enterprise which uses creativity to empower young people who are homeless.

The Access to Higher Education scholarships to study design and digital media were awarded to Jayakrishanth Narayanan, Luke Smith and Deluxe Mwengula for their talent and hard work at the private view of Accumulate’s new exhibition “Made by Us”.

On the course the recipients will be mentored by Ravensbourne students who will pass on the creative skills they’ve learnt and provide valuable networks and advice to aid progression and build confidence.

Jayakrishanth was introduced to Accumulate through charity, Freedom from Torture. He came to the UK in 2012 after being tortured in Sri Lanka.

He says: “After my experience in Sri Lanka I suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and really lacked confidence. Being part of the Accumulate project and focusing my energies on learning creative skills has really helped me.

“I’m so shocked to be awarded this scholarship but so excited to be studying at Ravensbourne in September.”

Accumulate founder and Work Based Learning Coordinator, Marice Cumber said: “ We’re delighted to have awarded three people the opportunity to study at Ravensbourne.

“It’s our third year of the project and it’s been a huge success. It’s great to see young people progressing, learning new skills and just generally being in a happier place. It’s also fantastic to see our students helping others and learning to relate to people from different backgrounds as well.”

An Access to Higher Education scholarship in creative and digital media was last year awarded to Sam Adesanya who is now progressing onto the BA (Hons) Animation course in September.

Sam said: “Being accepted onto the course has changed my life, without it it’s likely I’d still be homeless.

“Ravensbourne has been the perfect place for me to learn new skills and I’m ecstatic to be progressing to the animation degree course this year.”

The scholarships have been funded by BOP Consulting, Crep Protect and Ravensbourne Governor, Ruth Keattch.

You can see “Made by Us” at the Guardian, Kings Place
90 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 9GU from Friday 12 May – Saturday 3 June.