Newham students joined volunteers from colleges across east London to clean up the banks of the Thames to make a lasting difference in the community.

Young people from Newham College of Further Education and Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) spent the day collecting rubbish and clearing debris along a stretch of the riverbank in Greenwich as part of the Thames 21 River Clean Up.

Legacy Champions, an umbrella term for a number of youth projects organised across the capital by Olympics sustainability partner EDF Energy, mobilises 30 mentors a year to work with young people across 30 colleges for six months with the aim creating a useful environmental and community legacy.

A number of volunteers from the energy company joined the students, inlcuding community investment executive Sarah Grimes who said: “We had a fantastic day and all the volunteers put in a lot of effort into making a noticeable difference.

Lasting legacy

“There was a great atmosphere being alongside the students and they really should be proud of what they achieved in trying to leave a lasting legacy for this area.”

Another volunteer EDF Energy programme manager Pierre Anson-Tsang said: “It is so encouraging to see so many of the students wanting to volunteer and work together with charities like Thames 21 and Envision to make a real difference to their community by getting their hands dirty - all inspired by London 2012.”