Grants 2020

We offered our usual grants to local schools this year, and we were also pleased to make three awards to local young people and/or charities for arts-related projects.

Schools

The Roseland Academy was awarded £1,000 for its project INSIDE OUTSIDE, to explore local architecture and gardens to investigate how nature influences the built environment.   Both Tregony Community School and Gerrans Primary School were awarded £300 each for pupils to go to the Minack Theatre for an acting workshop and performance.   Veryan C of E Primary was awarded £300 to cover the costs of workshop to encourage pupil to read, with dyslexic writer Tom McLaughlin.   The St Mawes Primary School was to work with Will Keating to rehearse and perform their own concert.   Feast of Festivals provided a additional £500 grant to cover the costs of professional musicians appearing at the concert.

The schools’ plans were interrupted by COVID restrictions.   The Roseland Academy and Gerrans Primary School decided to hold their grant awards over until 2021.   Tregony Community Primary used their grant to update art materials and provide children with new sketch books.  The event for St Mawes Primary School with Will Keating could not go ahead, which was disappointing.   It is hoped that something similar can be arranged with the school in future.

Veryan C of E Primary

We received this lovely report from Veryan Church of England Primary School about their day with Tom McLaughlin.

“I can confirm that, thanks to the grant we received from the Roseland Festival,  we were lucky enough to be able to hold a workshop with Tom McLaughlin last year. Tom “writes pictures and doodle words for Bloomsbury, Puffin, Oxford University Press, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, The Guardian; Disney, Nickelodeon.”   It was an inspirational day for all the children and staff who listened to Tom humorously explain how he overcame his difficulties with dyslexia to become an illustrator and author of his own very successful books. We were also delighted to be able to purchase copies of Tom’s books for our school library so we could continue to enjoy them after his visit.  Tom’s workshop inspired the children to draw creative illustrations and write their own stories in proceeding lessons, as well as discussing the importance of resilience and perseverance. Teachers remarked on the powerful impression that Tom left on the children and in particular in the area of writing for some of the previously more reluctant boys.  Thank you to The Roseland Festival for allowing us the opportunity to meet and learn from Tom McLaughlin; it was a fabulous experience for the children throughout the school and made some lasting memories.”

Local young people and organizations

We also awarded grants to a local schoolchild to help with the cost of piano lessons [£250], to the Roseland Surgery Patients’ Group to help with a young people’s drama for VE Day [£300], and the Radford Trust to contribute to the  purchase of a new oboe [£500].