Exeter Northcott Theatre has received £5,000 to fund an inter-schools drama project for children in Exeter with a variety of different needs.
The donation was provided by the Santander Foundation, which offers Discovery Grants to UK registered charities for projects that help disadvantaged people in local communities.
Exeter Northcott Theatre develops programmes to engage children and young people with the arts, including those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The theatre is collaborating with PaddleBoat Theatre Company to encourage students from five different schools in the same area of Exeter to get involved in the arts.
During the 10-week project funded by the Santander Foundation grant, Arts practitioners will go into schools and host drama workshops with students, with the aim of encouraging them to work together for the first time and experience the arts first hand. The charity will celebrate each student’s creativity when their work is performed in November. The project aims to raise the aspirations and confidence of each participating student.
Lisa Hudson, at Exeter Northcott Theatre, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be working alongside PaddleBoat Theatre Company to deliver this important work in the city. It’s a fabulous opportunity to bring together such a diverse range of young people and support them to understand more about the arts. The grant from Santander Foundation has helped make this possible.”
Charles Macrae, Branch Manager at Santander’s Exeter branch, said: “The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations to local projects every year with the aim of assisting organisations, communities and vulnerable people throughout the UK. The staff at our branch know the great work Exeter Northcott Theatre does in our community and we hope this grant will help them in their support for local people.”
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Notes to Editors:
Media Contact
Leonora Burtenshaw at Santander
Email: Leonora.burtenshaw@santander.co.uk Tel: 020 7756 4543
Lisa Hudson at Exeter Nothcott Theatre
Email: l.hudson@exeter.ac.uk
About Exeter Northcott Theatre
Located on the University of Exeter’s Streatham campus, Exeter Northcott Theatre plays a central role in the cultural life of the city and region.
For more information please visit: www.exeternorthcott.co.uk
Santander Foundation
The Santander Foundation is at the heart of the Bank’s community activities, providing grants to small charities and social enterprises working with disadvantaged people to fund skills, knowledge and innovation projects across the UK. Discovery Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support three types of activity:
- Explorer: improving people’s knowledge
- Transformer: supporting skills and experience
- Changemaker: innovative solutions to social challenges
Over the last five years, the Santander Foundation has provided £26 million in funding to 13,914 UK charities through Discovery Grants and Staff Matched Donations. For more information please visit: www.santanderfoundation.org.uk
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 30 June 2018, the bank has c24,200 employees. It serves around 15 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking; and 64 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.