Sorrell Foundation Saturday Club to receive government funding
The National Art & Design Saturday Club, a programme developed by the Sorrell Foundation with support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Arts programme, will receive government funding of £395,000 over three years.
The Sorrell Foundation is a charitable organisation which aims to inspire creativity in young people. It set up the National Art & Design Saturday Club to give young people aged 14-16 the unique opportunity to study art and design for free every Saturday morning.
PHF funding has allowed the programme, now in its third year, to give more than 600 young people from 130 schools the chance to attend art and design clubs. These clubs take place at 17 colleges and universities around the UK and the Sorrell Foundation now aims to increase this number to at least 50.
Education Secretary Michael Gove and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey made the announcement at the launch of the Henley Review of cultural education. Although the idea of Saturday clubs is not new, having been a post-war policy during 1950-70, the rebooted initiative aims to help young people build confidence for careers in the creative industries.
Under the scheme, young people benefit from 30 weeks of classes at local colleges, which provide opportunities to explore disciplines ranging from graphics and product design to fine art and photography. As well as these classes, students receive master classes from leading designers and artists.
Sir John Sorrell and his wife Frances, two leading British designers, were themselves beneficiaries of Saturday clubs in the 1950s and 60s. Sir John said: “We wanted to offer young people today the same opportunity we had and are delighted that now there are over 600 talented pupils benefiting from the Saturday Club.”
Frances Sorrell said: “It is wonderful to have this government support for the Saturday Club, it will enable it to scale up from 17 to 50 clubs across the country and give classes to over 2,000 young people.”
In 2010/11, The Sorrell Foundation received funding of £149,873 over three years from the PHF Arts programme to establish the National Art & Design Saturday Club and allow it to give young people a potentially life-changing opportunity. The programme has also been supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Somerset House Trust.