At SHINE’s Board meeting this month, grants worth more than £1.5 million were approved. The bulk of this new funding will be headed to schools involved in our Hallé SHINE on Manchester and our SHINE in Secondaries programmes. Five primary schools in and around Manchester have been awarded grants totalling more than £400,000 as part of our Hallé SHINE on Manchester initiative. Closely based on our SHINE on Saturday programme, Hallé SHINE on Manchester is a partnership with the government-funded Educational Endowment Foundation (EEF). It leverages the creative expertise of Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra, which is working with the participating schools to devise a range of creative and engaging learning activities, including visiting musicians, story tellers and educational visits.

SHINE moves into more secondaries 

Meanwhile, four secondary schools in London and Manchester have been awarded grants worth more than £400,000 as part of our SHINE in Secondaries programme. Set up to tackle the notoriously difficult transition from primary to secondary school, it is also modelled on our Saturday programme, with changes made to appeal to slightly older students. It is funded in partnership with the Greater London Authority and the EEF and will help 630 students over the next three years.

SHINE’s Trustees also approved grants for three new SHINE on Saturday projects in London – in Barnet, Enfield and Tower Hamlets – as well as further funding for two successful Saturday projects in Southwark and Merton. The new grants also cover the winners of Let Teachers SHINE 2013, as well as three winning projects from our 2012 competition whose impressive results over the past year have prompted us, together with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, to continue funding their work and expansion over the next 12 months.

Climbing Higher, for longer

In addition, we’re supporting Climbing Higher for a further three years. This project, run by Watford Grammar School for Boys, combines personalised learning, family support and a 10 metre high climbing wall to help disadvantaged local students prepare for their GCSEs. To date, it has achieved excellent results with most students achieving the all-important 5 A*-C GCSEs including English and maths, enabling them to continue their education. Finally, we’re funding a new Serious Fun on Saturdays project at Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green. We’re also continuing our support for Serious Fun @ Highgate School. This combines one-to-one reading support with sport, drama, debating and presentation to help students from Brent improve their literacy skills.

Commenting on the grants, SHINE’s Chief Executive, Paul Carbury, said: “SHINE is delighted to continue our support for programmes that, week in and week out, are making a big difference to the educational attainment and life chances of children and teenagers from some of our poorest communities. As ever, we will continue to monitor the results that come in so that we can be sure we are getting the best possible return from these significant investments.”