Education and Young People
The Prince of Wales has for many years tried, through his charities, to help young people fulfil their talent and potential. For example, in 1976 The Prince founded The Prince's Trust with his severance pay from the Navy.
Two of the main objectives of The Prince of Wales’s working life – his ambition to help young people realise their full potential and his desire to promote investment in the country’s future – come together in his support for improving educational provision and opportunities for young people in the UK. This is evident in the work of many of His Royal Highness’s main charities, especially The Prince’s Teaching Institute which was formed in 2006, as well as his life membership of the National Association of Head Teachers and his patronage of several educational causes.
The Prince’s Teaching Institute
The Prince’s Teaching Institute was founded in 2006. It provides subject-based continuous professional development for secondary school teachers of English Literature, History, Mathematics, Science, Geography and Modern Foreign Languages
The Institute has a partnership with the University of Cambridge which gives it access to some of the highest profile academics in the country who speak at the events it organises. These consist of Residential Summer Schools, which allow teachers and headteachers to refresh their subject knowledge outside of their school environment and share ideas for the classroom from their peers, and one-day continuous professional development courses designed by teachers introducing the latest thinking in a specific subject. The Institute also runs the PTI Schools Programme and Schools Leadership Programme, membership schemes for schools who commit to improving their subject provision. Visit www.princes-ti.org.uk.
The Prince’s Drawing School
The School’s purpose is to facilitate and promote the practice of drawing from observation. It believes that this is crucial for all aspects of visual learning, thinking and practice. The Prince's Drawing School aims to fill a gap left by the steady erosion of observational drawing from the study of art in higher education and in schools by offering tuition and resources to art students, artists, children and the public.
The charity provide a supportive environment for a range of artistic practices and levels of experience, centred in observational drawing. This includes studio classes, drawing in the city and museums, a print studio and a full lecture programme. It also aims to make tuition affordable and accessible to everyone according to their needs and their abilities. This is ensured through provision of a postgraduate programme, classes for the public and a network of children’s Drawing Clubs across the city.Visit www.princesdrawingschool.org.
The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts
The Prince's School of Traditional Arts specialises in teaching, researching, and promoting the arts and crafts of the world's great traditions.
The School’s courses combine the teaching of the practical skills of traditional arts and crafts with an understanding of the philosophy inherent within them. Practicing artists from around the world join the School to undertake research at the highest level through post-graduate degree programme (MA, MPhil, PhD).
The School also offers public and outreach programmes, both in the United Kingdom and abroad. These programmes enable people to learn practical skills, encourage an appreciation of the universal values that are essential to the traditional arts and crafts, and support the recognition of the traditional arts as a valid means of contemporary expression. Visit www.psta.org.uk.
Watch a video about The Prince's School of Traditional Arts:
The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts
Children & the Arts know that early engagement with the arts has a positive impact on young people: raising aspirations, increasing confidence, improving communication skills and unlocking creativity. They champion the power of the arts to transform lives and strive towards a future where all children in the UK gain access to the arts.
Children & the Arts engages with disadvantaged children nationwide who do not have access to high-quality arts activity because of either social or economic barriers. Through a network of partners they use the arts as a platform to inspire and enable personal and social development amongst those who are hardest to reach. Through their work children learn that cultural venues are welcoming, accessible and exciting places to visit.
Children & the Arts is the only national educational charity committed to ensuring that all children in the UK are inspired by the arts.
Visit www.childrenandarts.org.uk
The Prince’s Trust
The Prince's Trust exists to help young people overcome barriers and get their lives working.
Through practical support including training, mentoring and financial assistance, it helps 14 to 30-year-olds realise their potential and transform their lives.
The Trust focuses its efforts on young people who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law. Visit www.princes-trust.org.uk.
Watch a video below highlighting the work of The Prince's Trust Team Programme:
The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust
The sole aim of The Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT) is to help young people in Scotland aged between 18 and 25, however challenging their background, achieve their full potential through self-employment with the provision of a comprehensive support package of pre-start counselling, funding and an extensive aftercare programme.
The PSYBT has grown rapidly from its early days and now works towards an annual target of 600 businesses a year, manages a loan fund over £3 million and provides aftercare to more than 8000 businesses In Scotland. Visitwww.psybt.org.uk.
Watch a video about a PSYBT 2011 finalist and how the PSYBT helped her establish her own business below: