02086932254–07789765867
info@markevisonfoundation.org
POBox59519LondonSE219AL
RegisteredCharityNo1158382
NEWSLETTER
September 2023-August 2024
Welcome to our new newsletter, we do hope you enjoy reading it.
First what do we do? In a nutshell, we encourage 17-year-old students in London state schools to undertake group and individual challenges, and benefit from the growth of competence, selfesteem, and confidence that comes with them. We are the only UK charity in this field that encourages young people to do what they want to do, taps into their hopes and interests, their passions – and what is important at 17.
Then we ask them to be in the driving seat, to organise their challenge by themselves – we guide them along the way, risk-assess their plans, and give them expenses funding to do it. They then carry out their projects adult-free, learning important lessons from that experience.
Teachers love us. They see the difference we make not just to our award winners, but also the students who apply but do not manage to carry out projects – the latter still walk away with new planning skills, knowing how to research and develop an idea
Roughly half our schools are especially disadvantaged (as shown by the level of Free School Meals, as high as 55% across several schools). Students often live insular local lives with little experience of the wider world, they have little opportunity to build their confidence. Fear of knife crime is evident; some schools have scanners for knives as students come in each morning
We are an important charity for our partner schools, and our results are impressive. In the last academic year 10,000 students heard us speak, 3,300 came to our first session, interested and keen. Two thousand sent 650 applications, most often in teams averaging three members. They had to research, plan, push their dream through – and pass our strict judging assessment. Nearly 600 students were successful (compared with 429 students in 2023). https://www.markevisonfoundation.org for their reports and photos.
We have gone from working in four state schools in 2014 to now being in 90 state schools in 2024 (20% of all such schools). We have supported nearly 2,740 young people with funding to do difficult things planned themselves.
We were especially proud that this year at Kingsdale Foundation School we gave 13 awards to 42 students (22% of the y12 cohort); and at Mossbourne Academy we finally gave 9 awards to 36 students (19% of the Yr 12 cohort)
Our next event
Wine and Champagne Tasting at the Cavalry and Guards Club 127 Piccadilly, W1J 7PX
Wednesday 12 March 2025 at 7 pm
Our very popular seated wine and champagne tasting will be hosted by Pol Roger, with five wines and three champagnes. It will be introduced by James Simpson (from Pol Roger), Master of Wine. It will be held at the elegant Cavalry and Guards Club, and include a short Auction of Promises. This is a wonderful event for wine and to have a good time!
Tickets £55, individual or tables up to 12, from events@markevisonfoundation.org. Enquiries 07789 765 867.
Can you help?
We need your help to give more young people the chance to take part. Please could you consider regular giving, as well as one-off donations - £20 a month would cover student expenses for one award. A gift of £2000 would fund a year’s work in a school - see enclosed donation and gift aid form. Please help us grow so we can help more young people to a better future.
2023/24 School award projects
We had some wonderful applications from Year 12s, with students showing enormous grit, determination and ingenuity carrying out their challenges. We detail just a few ‘in theirownwords’.
We owe a huge thanks to our external assessors, especially to James Humphrey, Head of Design and Technology at Dulwich College, and Jim Freeman, trained Mountain leader from Charterhouse School
Cycle to Bristol
Mulberry Stepney Green College Tower Hamlets Hasin, Rupok and Afzal
For our MEF challenge, we decided to cycle all the way to Bristol. We first came up with the idea and immediately thought “THAT’S INSANE”, but after months of planning, preparation and training, we were finally ready to take on this ferocious adventure.
When we first started off, we constantly took breaks (it even got to the point where we were taking breaks longer than we were actually cycling!) But then we pushed ourselves, enduring the pain and building up the stamina.
We slowly yet surely became significantly more confident, building up our stamina through the tough routes, such as the steep hills, rocky roads and the wet grass. We can now confidently say we can use OS maps as this was our primary source of navigation.
Another aspect of this challenge was to not use our phones for navigation software like Google Maps, which we were successful in doing for a majority of the time.
However, not everything was going to plan during our cycle journey. We didn’t anticipate the weather conditions. Although it rarely rained, it was relatively windy and cold, and we were under the assumption that if we were constantly cycling, we would get hot and not feel the harsh weather conditions, but this
later turned out to be false, but thankfully this wasn’t a huge issue.
Injuries were also prominent, as some of us fell off our bikes, grazing our knees but nothing we couldn’t handle. We were all moderately miserable, but looking back on it now, we are all very glad we did something to get out of our comfort zone and push ourselves.
In terms of what we achieved out of this expedition, well A LOT!!! As mentioned, we are able to use OS maps very effectively to the point where if we were in the middle of nowhere and were given an OS map of the area, we would be able to navigate our way through. We also developed more physical stamina and endurance.
We were also able to think on our feet, as we did get lost sometimes and so through each individual’s collaborative work, we were able to get out of the situation effectively. And lastly, we all managed time extremely effectively and were very resourceful throughout the trip.
We then made it home from the trip, and I probably had the longest sleep I’ve had in my 17 years of living on this planet! (We were all out of commission for a few days after!)
Eco fashion show
Kingsdale Foundation School Southwark Krystyna, Olivia, Hayden & Iris
For our Mark Evison Foundation challenge, our team (Olivia, Hayden, Iris, Krystyna) set ourselves the challenge of organising a fashion show inspired by climate change and its effects on our ecosystems, which included: designing and sewing full outfits (including hair and makeup), organising venue and entertainment, as well as raising money, in which we faced many challenges.
We discussed and agreed on 4 themes which we believed were strongly affected by climate change: Ocean Ecosystems, Desert Droughts, Polar Regions and Rainforest Biomes, with the hopes of making a piece each, for each theme (16 in total).
However due to a short timeframe and budget of £300 we came to the conclusion of making 3 pieces each instead (12 in total). Our goal was to challenge our organisation and creative skills as well as raise awareness and money for the environment; therefore we decided to donate around 20% of the money raised (roughly £500) to the Giving Green Fund.
As well as keeping the show as environmentally friendly as possible, we did this by reusing old materials from our school and homes as well as locally sourcing our fabrics or buying from online shops in england, ultimately reducing our carbon emissions for the project. To save as much money as possible, we used our friends as models and another friend to design the model used in our poster.
We also recruited two local bands who kindly offered to perform for free, as well as a pianist who played live music as people entered; this music aspect attracted more people to the show, greatly benefiting the funds raised, as well as lengthening the show to over an hour.
We all successfully finished our outfits in time and learnt many new sewing skills such as fitting them to the models and new techniques used to create pieces, such as intricate corsets and gravity defying dresses.
However, we experienced many practical problems, such as our venue being double booked a week before the show and a band withdrawing due to illness. However, we overcame these issues by discussing with school faculty and organising a different venue and entertainment; therefore, our teamwork and organisational skills were put to use and we developed problem solving skills in the process of this project.
Through this challenge we also learnt skills such as advertising and ticketing; to save money we made the posters ourselves, printed them off in school, and advertised them on social media, through our schools art account and our own instagram account
@kfsfashionshow. (On this account all photos of our outfits have been posted from a photoshoot done after the show) We also placed posters around our school and handed out flyers to gain more attraction.
We used online ticketing sights such as ticketlab and stripe (due to them having the lowest ticketing costs) as well as having a friend at the door to sell more tickets for a higher price (£5 rather than £4). The night was a complete success, we had all the models enter from different entrances individually, in their themes and so fourth to lengthen out the show, as well as keep it entertaining.
We were able to set up a stage and lighting, as well as music to create an amazing atmosphere whilst the models were walking. This taught us extreme organisation skills through; coordinating and teaching the 12 models where and when to walk, dealing with the band seemlessly coming on and off the stage, changing music and lighting during the show, as well as the mics and sound checks needed for the bands performances.
Due to limited staff we had to do each of these jobs ourselves which was a challenge and if we could repeat the show we would recruit more people to help us with the technical tasks (sounds and lighting) or for the models makeup and hair.
Although it was a challenge, we were extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to showcase our work, whilst raising money for charity and we gained many skills that are extremely valuable for our futures.
Ben Nevis and West Highland Way
Haberdashers’ Hatcham School New Cross Lyon, Will and Folarin
1.) The trip me and my friends took this summer was one of those accomplishments I’ll be sure to remember. Never had any of us done an overnight let alone 5 day hike before, neither had we wild camped or walked for full days but regardless I whole heartedly enjoyed the experience – catching my breath in moments of the surreal highlands, I felt I truly had immersed myself in a foreign life, a breath of fresh air, grass, trees, birds and miles of the moors and hills far away from home.
Despite heavy bags and the elements, exploration remained a pleasure in its calmness and change of speed from regular life something I found very valuable and has definitely set me on doing a multiday hike next year. Summitting Ben Nevis with my friends after days of walking was a novelty I haven’t felt before, indeed something very special.
After this trip I would recommend to anyone considering a multi-day hike or climbing a mountain just to give it a go, I didn’t think hiking would be for me and I’ve ended up wanting to do another one.
Of course this trip wouldn’t of happened without the Mark Evison Foundation who inspired us to take on such a challenge and for them we are extremely grateful.– Will.
2.) It was truly an ‘out of my comfort zone’ experience in the most positive sense I could possibly evoke. Our First day was by far the worst. The rain welcomed us to our starting point and refused to leave until the early vestiges of the following day.
Luckily, we managed to find a spot to hitch our tent and so marked my first experience of Wild Camping. I admit that it was something like none other in that it felt as though we were completely submerged in
nature; with birds flying overhead and what I suspect, or hope, were rabbits walking eerily close to our wet tents.
Nonetheless, being born and raised a city boy, it is not something I would be looking to do again. However, the walks, each one despite pushing me to my physical limits numerously, were the highlights of the trip. Walking together with friends across north-west Scotland is not something everyone can say, and neither is climbing the tallest mountain in the UK.
The friends I embarked with and those we met on the way reminded me of the beauties of the world, as cliche as it sounds, but after the ‘stress fest’ which was year 12 mock exams and the ‘night just before the dawn’ which is year 13, I believe that this trip provided me with a sense of relaxation albeit physically taxing, which I didn’t know that I needed. Thank you, Lyon
3.) When I first heard we was climbing the highest mountain in the UK I was in awe, however I was ready.
Living in the city all my life I had never really had the opportunity to explore the different types of settings I had just felt confined to living in the city however when I heard about the Mark Evison foundation and how they were kindly willing to help fund an activity for a group of year 12s my interest was peaked and then we decided we would climb the highest mountain in the UK and hike along the west highland way being able to see the beautiful landscape Scotland has to offer the trip went very well I enjoyed being out of my comfort zone not being surrounded by the loud city but being able to be one with nature.
It was also good exercise and had helped with my wellbeing I would like to thank the Mark Evison foundation for giving us the opportunity.– Folarin
4.) I found the Mark Evison trip a great experience because of the great Scottish scenery and the feel of being independent in the wild. It did also come with its challenges like the bad weather which lead to our stuff getting wet and the mission of drying it out.
The wild camping in forests was a cool experience as we had to find suitable areas to set up the tents in splendid isolation. The hike up Ben Nevis was great on the way up with nice weather and views which I enjoyed however the descent was quite hard as it had started to rain. Overall the most challenging part was staying motivated in the long walks but it was well rewarding by the end of it, camping and cooking with friends was great. A big thank you to the MEF.–
Short film
Robert Clack School, Barking and Dagenham Gabriella, Denisa, Neha, Aimuavbosa, Foyinsola
For our Mark Evison Project, my group chose to create a thriller short film called “Can I tell”. Gabriella wrote the script, directed and edited along with Foyinsola; me, Tanya, Aimuavbosa and Denisa acted along with a few other friends.
We split our filming between 2 weeks in March and July and spent the rest of the time editing. We had a lot of fun filming in Stratford as well as places in Romford and Dagenham. However, a few difficulties we faced was scheduling when to film, since everyone’s schedule was different, we had to try really hard to find times when everyone was able to come. We also had to film some scenes very late at night which posed a few safety risks however we had some of our parents present to combat that.
After the amazing efforts put in by everyone, we were all incredibly proud of how the short film turned out. We managed to finish everything in time (before the summer holidays began) to showcase our work at our school; we used our film to fundraise by advertising tickets for the viewing (£1 per person).
We all had a lot of fun during this project and were able to gain a myriad of skills. Filming a short film helped us develop technical skills in camera operation, lighting, sound, and editing, alongside creative abilities in storytelling, directing, and cinematography. It enhances project management, team collaboration, adaptability, and attention to detail. Additionally, it builds marketing knowledge and personal growth in creativity, confidence, and leadership, offering a well-rounded skill set for future projects and professional growth.
Thank you for your continued support and collaboration as we advance towards our objectives.
Here is the link to this brilliant psychological drama: https://www.markevisonfoundation.org/award/robe rt-clack-school-2024/
Quadcopter
The John Roan School, Greenwich Asma and Yasminn
For our mark evison project, we decided to build a remote controlled working air drone specifically a quadcopter because we’ve always been fascinated by technology and wanted to challenge ourselves with a hands-on project.
There were two key steps to building a successful drone. The first was the buy all the right components, ensuring we had everything we needed for our build. The second step was to assemble it correctly and carefully.
To start, we got creative and made our frame out of metal rulers. Using a drill, we carefully made holes to attach the motors and ESC motors securely. Next, we connected the flight control board to the remote transmitter and fixed it onto the rulers. After checking for any loose wires and insulating them, we calibrated the remote control board. However, When we tried to get the motors spinning with the battery, the flight control board malfunctioned due to a loose wire shock. We had to replace the motor and doublechecked all connections to ensure the same mistake was not repeated. Once everything was sorted, the motors finally spun.
To finish up, we covered the setup with balsa wood, added a camera for stunning aerial shots, and proudly placed the Mark Evison logo as a token of our gratitude for the experience.
The experience of building drone taught us patience, problem-solving, and the importance of teamwork as we navigated challenges together and learned to appreciate the creative process.
Isle of Skye
Chestnut Grove Academy, Wandsworth Aine, Flo, Josie, Lorina, Sofia
Over the last several months we planned our almost weeklong hiking and camping trip to Isle of Skye in Scotland.
On the evening of 21st July, we left from London Victoria on an overnight coach to Glasgow, then from there another coach to Sligachan, Isle of Skye. Our first day of walking was shorter considering the travel beforehand but we could straight away see the beautiful mountain landscapes and stunning sunset. Our first night was spent wild camping, which we all found difficult at first but grew to really enjoy!
During the second day we hiked up the mountain Sgurr na Stri, which allowed us to see a 360 view of the peaks around us. We then hiked back towards Sligachan, where we spent the night in a campsite and enjoyed dinner at a restaurant. On this day we walked about 20km.
Our third day was our longest walk overall with a total of about 30km. We hiked to Portree campsite which was further north on the island than where we had explored so far. The hike there was gorgeous with many views of the ocean, bays and forests. On this
day we started feeling more tired but persevered, which wasn’t too difficult with the beautiful nature surrounding us. The evening was spent in the town of Portree and we slept in the nearby campsite. By this day, we had all become accustomed to setting up the tents together and were very efficient.
Day 4 was another long hiking day but with a very exciting destination. We hiked along the coast up towards the Old Man Storr where we then hiked further to find our wild camping spot. Seeing Old Man Storr was amazing and the surrounding rocks and cliffs were stunning.
In Glasgow we took a couple hours to explore the city and have a nice meal. Then, after another overnight coach, we made it back to London.
Although we were exhausted we had a fantastic time and were so glad we had done this. The entire planning process taught us so much independence, and through setting up the tents and travelling together we built on our teamwork skills. We also learnt more empathy while supporting each other during tiring moments and became closer friends. We can also all agree that we feel very healthy and fit after the fresh air and walking about 80km in total.
Overall, we are so grateful to the Mark Evison Foundation for providing us with this opportunity. It’s a trip we’ll never forget!
Treasures from the attic
Rooks Heath School, Harrow Maanya
My chosen project was to write and release a book of my short fiction stories. Publishing my own book was my biggest aspiration, and now I can proudly say that it is one of my greatest achievements.
When the Mark Evison Foundation visited my school to speak about their cause, and how they are helping students to reach their aims, I finally got the inspiration to take the steps towards achieving my goal.
Over the next six months, I wrote, edited, got quotes from printers. planned how to release the book, and fundraising. My friend. Krystal, helped me with her lovely illustrations and a fantastic cover.
My book, “Treasures from the Attic”, was launched on the 17th of October at the Open Evening at my school. I feel very proud that almost all of the copies were sold out in the pre-sale within 5 days of the launch.
I am thrilled at how the book has turned out and very proud of myself for making this long-drawn dream of mine into a reality. I have a deep gratitude towards the Mark Evison Foundation for their part in this project.
Overall, the experience was very interesting and exciting, although sometimes challenging. Despite all the hardships, I managed to persevere and emerge successful. I am thankful to have gotten this opportunity to push myself and learn new skills while doing something I enjoy.
The Arduous Hike in Wales (TrailBlazers)
Ernest Bevin Academy, Tooting Agsayan, Vithusan, Shanthoos & Kavishan
At the start of the summer break, we four embarked on our arduous journey in the mighty Brecon Beacons from Abergavenny to Llanthony and other routes for four full days!
Cautious about this difficult challenge we took from the Mark Evison Foundation, we have prepared to set off into the outside world from our safe zone which was the most difficult and extreme days of our lives and we had a few muscle cramps and blisters from thorny bushes but we have made it safely without any major troubles.
On the first day at 6am, we took a tube to Victoria Coach Station to catch a coach at 8am all the way to Cardiff where we have embrased into Wales. We had to take a train to Abbergaveny which we nearly missed by a few seconds where we pounced from our
feet realising the train was about to depart, which could ended up in a sticky position.
Once we had arrived to Abbergaveney we decided to just hike all the way up to the campsite with our heavy bags which takes 6 hours instead of taking the easier route. Our feets blazing like madness, we had to walk a huge circle in order to come down to our campsite which wasn’t planned at all. But thanks to our map reading skills, we had finally arrived to our campsite at 10pm, which we had to hike in the dark, to end Day 1.
At Day 2 , We had a rough morning as it was freezing cold and some of us barely had any sleep and so we thought of doing a smaller hike which took three hours. This time, we left our tents and food in the campsite as carrying 1/2 of the things can be a lot easier for us.
We took a different route up Llanthony to Llanthony Lodge and then take a U turn to come back . Luckily due to our teamwork and cooperation, we have successfully completed the route without any major injuries where we arrived back at 6pm where we used the portable stove to cook some lovely hot food as we enjoy the view of the mountains ending Day 2.
At Day 3 and Day 4, we thought the day couldn’t get any worse where we have experienced some rain which we thought of not beginning the hike at 5.30am until the rain stopped, so we won’t have to slip to our death beds.
At 7 am, the rain stopped and so we begun hiking, bringing all of our stuff as we are heading to another campsite which was located at Cardiff. After hiking at nearly an eternity (6 hours), we had arrived at Cardiff which we took a bus to our campsite all covered in mud as the route we took was really steep some paths had mud which we slip and slided.
So, we had a perfect opportunity to wash it all off with some water and tissues and addition to a warm shower ending day 3 with relaxing minds as our only task is to make our way back home. We woke up at Day 4, packed our tents up and ready to catch the bus back to Abbergaveny and the train to Cardiff and the Coach back to our sweet place where we usually belong at 9pm.
Overall, the trip was a huge success and we cannot believe we would actually accomplish this without any major problems. Although we had a few blisters and stings and bad muscle cramps from carrying a lot of bags (not just our camping bags), we had a splendid time as we have discovered a mountain truly magical as we felt like landing in a wonderland of nature.
As a writer of this report, I would like to thank Mark Evison Foundation for this opportunity for us to do this challenge. We have learnt a lot of things and we would surely go again to the Brecon Beacons and other wonderful mountains to experience more pain but at the same time would be a magical experience.
Music video/EP
Shirley HS Performing Arts College Croydon Nengi
I wrote, recorded, released and created a music video for my song “Boulevard Love”. This song is my personal view on love that overcomes anything, placed in the environment of a young ‘celebrity’ and her love being stalked by the media and paparazzithe idea of the music video came upon my mind first and I generated the musical aspects from it.
The first thing I did was write the lyrics and create a demo melody, then booked a recording session at Mill Hill music complex with a music engineer during the beginning of July. We recorded the song with live instruments, logic pro loops and my vocal, the process required me to change the original vision I had for my song to fit the musical realities of the sessions time and the engineers ability to create a song with no musical theory information from me.
When I had received my song from the studio and got all the video footage needed for the video, using Cap Cut and Canva I created the music video; splicing and merging video to fit the song before releasing the song through Distrokid to apple music, Spotify and Youtube music and releasing the video to my youtube account.
After that my volunteer crew (which shortened due to scheduling conflicts) went off to our pre-agreed locations to film the music video. Since there were less people than was originally agreed upon for the
video I had to tailor the plot to fit our small group of 5. Some of my friends who helped out had to double as actors and camera operators.
Overall the creative and distribution process was thrilling and eye opening for me, and I am proud and amazed by the outcome of my musical project
Australian Outback Award
We invite under-25 year olds in England to work as a jackaroo (sophisticated farm hand helping with a wide range of farm duties) at ‘Mungadal’, on the river Murrumbidgee near Hay, NSW - a large sheep breeding property specialising in the production of high-quality merino sheep and wool.
It is a hugely popular experience, in a close and fun outback community in Australia: please contact us if you would like to apply. All expenses paid
Events
Our fundraising events were very good value for those attending, and especially successful this year. Our two annual events - the Carol Concert with the Dulwich College Chapel Choir, and the seated wine tasting sponsored by Pol Roger – continue to be our most popular events. As well, Margaret opened her garden, with two other very beautiful local gardens.
We also organised supporters to take part in our first fundraising sports events, the Brighton Half Marathon, and the London to Brighton Cycle. We were very grateful to the 14 young people who ran/cycled for us, despite the cold and heat.
Tom Willis, our volunteer, ran the York Marathon in an impressive 3hr 32m for us, raising over £1200: Gabriel Price ran the Kew Half-marathon for us, again raising a substantial amount, over £500.
Staff
Frieda Rzewnicki, our schools co-ordinator, sadly left us in February 2024 – and Louis Bailey joined us to take up the role. Thank you, Frieda!
We have much appreciated the efforts of our honorary Treasurer Michael Hayden: and again, a big thank you to our designer Stefano Arata.
Donors
We thank many individual donors for their generous support, and a number of trusts and charities for substantial donations. These matter hugely to us, they make a big difference.
Volunteers are also very appreciated, for our ongoing work and at events.
Contact us, and a big thank you
Telephone: 020 8693 2254/07789 765 867
Website: www.markevisonfoundation.org
Post: PO Box 59519, London SE21 9AL
Email: info@markevisonfoundation.org
