CASE STUDY: DARCEY
We’ve been chatting to Darcey, PLACED Academy 2024-25 participant, to reflect on her experiences at the PLACED Academy.
Darcey, PLACED Academy Studio Participant from Stockport.
How did you first find out about the Academy, and what motivated you to join the programme? I found out about PLACED Academy through my school. I was motivated to join because I was building houses on this game. So then my dad recommended maybe doing architecture. So then, when I saw the e-mail about it on the school website, I jumped at the chance.
In your own words, can you explain what The Academy is? The Academy is fun, it’s creative, and it can also help you decide what you want to do for a job, and you can gain some great skills!
PLACED Academy focuses on developing a range of skills. Which skills do you feel that you’ve improved the most during the programme, and how? I think my confidence and teamwork have improved during the programme because you’re working in groups and you have to present your work. Before the Academy, I wouldn’t want to do it at all, and now I’m quite excited to show my work and present it to others.
Were there skills that you were surprised to develop in the programme or that you discovered you had? I discovered key skills like problem-solving. Before, if I couldn’t get around something, I’d ask somebody for help to help me figure it out, but now, if I’m in that sort of situation, I find ways around it and figure it out myself.
Describe a project that you worked on during the PLACED Academy that you’re particularly proud of. What was your role, and what did you enjoy most about it?
I’m proud of the project we did with RLB in Manchester, about retrofitting buildings. I’m proud of that one because I had a really fun time creating it and coming up with ideas for it. Restoring some of the original brickwork, keeping some of the history of it, but also making it more modern and a bit more eye-catching.
Did your involvement in the Academy change your perspective on how young people in particular can contribute to the built environment?
Yes, I think so, because they can bring creative ideas that others may not have seen or considered yet.
What were some of the challenges that you faced during the PLACED Academy, and how did you overcome them? I would say some of the challenges I faced were working with people who I hadn’t spoken to before; I wasn’t working with my friends. I got to know people, which I think is a good thing, to be able to make friends. I made friends with people who I didn’t know before, and then had to work together and then, yeah, we became friends.
What did you learn about yourself through this experience? It’s helped me realise that I can really do anything I put my mind to. When I first applied for the Academy, I was nervous. I wondered if I was going to be able to do it. If people were smarter than me, or if I would be at a disadvantage somehow. But then when I got there and everyone was so lovely and great.
How has the PLACED Academy helped you grow? It’s helped me help me grow by learning a new set of skills and how to apply those skills. Now I’ve got the skills, I’ve applied them in outside situations, which I didn’t expect. Also, getting to the sessions, because a lot of them are in Liverpool (and I’m not from Liverpool), so travelling independently has helped too. It was scary at first because I had to get the train on my own, but now I’ve learnt from those experiences and it’s been good.
What advice would you give to young people considering joining the PLACED Academy?
I would say go for it! I’ve loved doing the PLACED Academy. I’ve looked forward to each session, and it’s made me realise that I would like to do something in the built environment.