A shared grant of £23,000 was awarded over a two year period to the three bands of Skelmanthorpe B, Thurlstone and Deepcar. Initially the funding came from the EU and the administration of the money was directed through the Government’s department for education (DEFRA) to the regional body ‘Yorkshire Forward’ then further delegated to a local body ‘The East Pennine Innovation Partnership’.
As a condition of payment, the bands combined commitment to training had to be no less than thirty learners in brass and percussion playing. In addition to this, they had to prove a minimum of £6,000 worth of voluntary tuition. With a collective total of over one hundred brass and percussion students, plus highly motivated teams of volunteers, the necessary requirements were easily exceeded.
Although the grant came to an end in August, the three training groups remain thriving entities within their respective organisations.
The remarkable success of the three training bands shows an excellent commitment to those people involved however an enormous thank you must go to Andy Doyle and Deepcar’s Paul Higham, for all the hard work and dedication that went into applying for the grant and ensuring the observance of its conditions.
