How Foundation support Fuels Cap-a-Pie’s mission to Inspire and Engage Thousands of Young People across the Region
We’ve got some exciting news to share! Thanks to generous support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Cap-a-Pie will be continuing to inspire and engage young people through our partnerships with schools. Paul Hamlyn Foundation funding will help us continue to reach over 800 young people each year.
This three-year funding means a lot to us. It means we can expand our support for teachers in schools across Newcastle and North Tyneside. We will deliver innovative workshops, create new projects, and support teachers to implement our approaches independently.
At Cap-a-Pie, we’re all about sparking creativity and curiosity in young minds. Our workshops explore important topics like environmental issues, local history, and cutting-edge science. But it’s not just about the subjects; we explore themes like community, belonging and equality, encouraging students to think critically about the world around them.
Let us tell you about some of our exciting projects. Take Fizziwig the Pig, for example. It’s not your typical mystery-solving adventure; it gets children thinking about our relationship with nature in a whole new way. Then there’s Deltas, where we teach students about the physical and human geography of delta regions in places like India and Bangladesh. And in Coal Mining & Climate Change, students explore the history of coal mining in the North East, exploring technological advancements, addressing the current climate crisis, and contemplating solutions. In Animate Materials, students explore the future of materials chemistry, while in Brain Health, they learn about keeping their minds healthy and understanding dementia.
We’ve seen first-hand how our workshops engage young people. Participants sharpen their critical thinking skills, deepen their learning, and become more confident. Whether it’s through discussions or hands-on activities, we want every student to have the chance to express themselves.
And thanks to this funding, we can do even more. We’ll be working closely with schools to provide continuous professional development for teachers, ensuring that the impact of our work extends far beyond our workshops.
Katy Vanden, Producer at Cap-a-Pie put it best: “We’re thrilled that the Paul Hamlyn Foundation is supporting our work with local schools. Engaging young people in creative activities that support their learning and development is crucial, and we see the impact every day. It’s all thanks to the generosity of the foundation that we can continue to make this difference.”
But don’t just take our word for it. Matthew Hetherington, Deputy Headteacher at Christ Church CE Primary School said:
“Cap-a-Pie provide an invaluable opportunity for our children. The strong foundation of dramatic enquiry allows children to immerse themselves in a project, bringing the learning alive for them in the classroom. This is especially great for those with more profound barriers to conventional learning, such as low confidence, speaking English as an additional language, or those with special educational needs; it is rewarding to see how much these children come out of themselves and the level of understanding they can achieve during a project.”
So, here’s to creativity, curiosity, and making a real difference in the lives of young people. Together, with the support of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, we’re shaping a brighter future, one workshop at a time.
