Mountview awarded £86,650 by The Portal Trust

Mountview is delighted to announce that we have been awarded £86,650 over three years by The Portal Trust in support of Generation N*xt. This generous grant will enable hundreds of young people from Southwark to take part in our flagship young people’s programme, supporting free and highly subsidised places every week.

Photo by John Hunter

Generation N*xt was created to tackle barriers to the arts for local young people, ensuring everyone can participate in fun, life-enriching artistic activities and creating pathways into the theatre profession. On Saturdays and Wednesday evenings, Mountview is handed over to young people aged 6-24 from across Peckham, south London and beyond. With classes including acting, ballet, hip-hop, musical theatre and film making, Generation N*xt enables young people to develop skills, meet new friends and engage their creativity.

Despite keeping fees as affordable as possible, cost remains a major barrier to participation. The support of the Portal Trust and a number of other funders allows us to provide bursaries to all who need them – currently around half of participants – with 71% of bursary recipients from Peckham and bordering wards.

Currently welcoming 300 young people every week, this grant will enable Mountview to fulfil its ambitious plans to increase enrolments over the next three years, whilst continuing to offer half of all participants’ bursaries.

Commenting on the impact of this support, Mountview’s Head of Short Courses & Community Engagement Eddie Gower said:

“We strongly believe access and opportunity to experience the arts is essential for all young people. This funding will ensure Generation N*xt is a place for everyone. A place that focuses on, and celebrates its door-step. A place that can truly represent our local community. I cannot state how transformative this funding will be for local young people and Generation N*xt, and thank the Portal Trust for their extraordinary support.”

Photo by John Hunter

Richard Foley, CEO of The Portal Trust said:

“We are delighted to be working with Mountview, having visited just before the pandemic. We hope that our three-year grant in support of the Generation N*xt Bursary Programme will enable, and indeed strengthen, the delivery of a strong artist-led theatre training programme for thousands of young people in Peckham and the surrounding areas that will remove barriers to drama training and open up pathways to the theatre industry”

If you’d like to find out about enrolling in Generation N*xt, or applying for a Southwark bursary, click here.

If you’d like to find out more about supporting our work with young people in Peckham, click here.

To find out more about The Portal Trust, click here.