GAZETTE readers will already know about the fantastic news that our very own Customs House is going to receive a share of £25m as part of the Find Your Talent programme.
This will allow it to trial ways of offering children and young people five hours a week of high-quality cultural experiences, both in and out of school.
This marks an important step forward as the Government has announced the first 10 partnership
s to pilot the offer.
I am delighted that one of these is the partnership led by Customs House, serving North and South Tyneside, which will be doing work in South Shields
Selection as a pilot is a significant achievement as the Government had a huge amount of interest in the programme.
By the closing date, there were 141 applications from areas wanting to be involved, and the quality of these was very high.
The Find Your Talent programme is hugely important.
As the name suggests, it is about giving young people, no matter where they come from or what their background, the opportunity to follow their interests and develop their abilities to the full.
It is about giving young people the chance to:
- Perform on stage and attend top-quality performances and exhibitions at museums and galleries, and heritage sites.
- Get hands-on experience of the creative industries including film-making, radio and TV.
- Learn a musical instrument, and take part in a musical performance in front of an audience.
- Produce creative writing and appreciate authors and how they work.
- Learn about – and practise – new media and digital art.
This recent announcement is, however, far from the end of the process.
Over the next few months, officials will be working with the Customs House to ensure that they have the strongest possible partnerships.
Activity will begin on the ground in September.
The Government is absolutely confident the pilots will prove to be a huge success, and give ministers and officials the information needed to make decisions on rolling such an offer out nationally.
The Customs House is the jewel in our crown here in South Tyneside. It is a valuable community resource.
I cannot write about the Find Your Talent programme without mentioning the talents and skills of Ray, Peter, Pauline and Liz and the whole team at the Customs House.
If not for their dedication, commitment and hard work, we would not have such a successful centre of excellence here in South Shields.
Let's support their work in giving our young people the cultural experiences they deserve.
