A WORCESTER school has scooped a share of £2.5million to fund a project which will give disengaged children more educational opportunities.
Tudor Grange Academy Worcester on Bilford Road is one of just eight recipients from the Midlands and East regions to receive a welcomed cash injection from the NatWest Skills and Opportunities Fund.
The £35,000 boost will be used to run the school’s Rural Enterprise Project, a project which targets 25 pupils, aged 13 to 16, who have become disengaged from the school curriculum due to economic or social disadvantage or for disability reasons.
An alternative education programme will be presented to the teenagers in a bid to include them in school life.
Delivered by the social enterprise Good Soil and run from Top Barn Farm just outside the city, the participants will receive hands-on rural enterprise training, education, personal development and rehabilitation.
Matthew Boyle, Associate Principal at Tudor Grange Academy Worcester, said: “We are delighted and grateful to receive this award from the NatWest Skills and Opportunities Fund.
“Our Rural Enterprise Project provides a vital alternative for vulnerable young people who find mainstream education a challenge, giving them an opportunity to learn important skills, transform their lives and contribute to the wider community.”
Across the UK, a total of 911 organisations put forward applications for the first round of funding this year, 90 of these were short-listed to go to a public vote, and over 30,000 votes have now contributed to deciding the final 44 winners.
The winning organisations were chosen from a shortlist of 20 by a panel of judges from NatWest’s Midlands and East of England Regional Board, along with a public poll which counted as one vote.
Jan Hulston, Board Chairman, said: “We are thrilled to be supporting eight organisations across Midlands & East Region which work within our local communities.
“The projects will help to build a long-lasting legacy and make a real difference to local people, providing them with the skills and opportunities they need to build better lives,” she added.
