Yes! The Apprentices Hostel ...... home to many during their stay at the RAE. It can be safely said that memories of the five years or so spent in this 'residence' will be both varied and colourful.

The photograph shown is from FASTA archives. We apologise for the quality of the images but they are not original prints. For more memories of the hostel please click here.

Whatever individuals thought of the hostel the time spent there in that unique community is likely to be remembered with surprising affection and will certainly not be forgotten. Many long lasting friendships were formed within its walls and many strange bedfellows discovered common interests and common causes.

The hostel was home to a number of unique and important projects including:

Whatever the individual thought of the hostel it was an important and embedded part of the unique culture that was the RAE Apprentices scheme. It provided the environment in which future careers, ingenuity and inventiveness could flourish. Individual 'genius!', however unusual, was encouraged and sometimes even tolerated in an environment of liberal openness and it was in this enclave that many future 'thinkers' germinated.

Few will deny that the hostel was a wild place.

It's still there, but only just. The hostel is now boarded up and, it seems, poised for imminent demolition. A great pity, perhaps it should be preserved as a monument for future generations.