Fuel for the Future: Campfire 2025 reimagines education
Back in June, Rekindle brought together a vibrant mix of young people, families, educators, academics and community members from across the UK for a one-day event exploring how education could be reimagined from the ground up. Campfire: Reimagining Education, Rekindle’s first-ever event of its kind, was hosted at the People’s History Museum in Manchester and led by six of our youth researchers.
Their work took centre stage throughout the day, as each researcher shared the findings from their year-long projects tackling urgent areas for transformation in the education system: Intersectionality, Belonging, Language, Care, Youth Voice, and University Attainability. Their research clearly resonated with everyone in the room and sparked rich conversations, critical questions, and a wave of thoughtful, hopeful energy. Far from a gathering of passive listeners, the event brought together people who were ready to reflect, challenge, connect, imagine and take action.
Alongside workshops led by our researchers, the programme included inspiring breakout sessions from Rekindle collaborators: a moving performance by Yasmin Williams, Sahar Alhakkak Martinez and Hannah Lloyd of the Cardiff Collective, an imaginative creative activity led by Christevie Ngoma and Tumi Ogundamisi from States of Mind, and a reflective workshop by Ellie Rushton (Cultivating Bold Spaces).
Feedback from attendees on the day was hugely positive:
I’ve been involved in a lot of youth-led research and so I’ve really seen and experienced the benefits of being involved in that as a young person. It builds confidence, and is a nurturing thing to have your opinions and voices heard too.
Hazel Peters (young person, community member)
I found education really difficult, so this idea of reimagining (education) is so powerful for me. “a chance to explore what an alternative could look like together.
It’s not that some young people want to disengage or step out of education, it’s that they’re feeling pushed out. Why don’t they feel safe in that space? Education is more than just learning, it’s also about how we connect and interact with people, question and think critically
Daniel Mapatac (young person, part of Youth Collective working with Esme Fairburne Foundation and alumni of the Generations Academy of Wales)
I really like that we are hearing from young people’s point of view, and I think that’s really important; it’s something that we don’t really do….are we actually meeting the needs of the people we were serving – the young people
Caroline Farrell (school teacher)
Another attendee had equally positive words:
So fantastic to have an event where a community movement around reimagining education was foregrounded in such a collaborative insightful way.
The day also celebrated the creativity and achievements of the young people who attend the Rekindle School, with an exhibition of their artwork and live musical performances, as well as a ‘fireside chat’, with a handful of our Manchester youth pioneers, young Rekindle members, trustees and friends sharing the stage together.
The incredible collective of individuals who took part in this special event – giving up their summer’s Saturday to do so – showed just how deeply people care about the education system. It was a powerful reminder of how many are willing to be part of the solution, when given the space to contribute and the opportunity to connect. We feel extremely grateful for the time they gave. The conversations sparked that day are now directly shaping the next phase of our policy-informed education reform and will feed into our upcoming research.
Stay tuned through the Rekindle Foundation Linktree for a longer reflection on the Campfire event, for our research, our upcoming short film from the day, and continued reflections.
We’re building on the energy of the day and planning what comes next. If you’re keen to join us – whether as a collaborator, supporter or curious thinker- get in touch at [email protected].
Photo Credits: Simone Trumpet
