Can you help us to deliver The Margate School's Art&Design Saturday Club?
This Club connects Young People aged 13-16 with local creatives for alternative art and design education. Through group projects and exciting workshops, we encourage collaboration & experimentation, empowering Young People with the skills to be adaptable and resilient, growing their confidence to forge pathways into further education and creative careers.
“Being able to express myself freely in a Club where the teaching is more collaborative has helped me to develop my skills.” - Club Member
We hope to grow upon the success of our pilot programme by extending the session timetable to 30 weeks, inviting more local creatives to deliver guest workshops and inspiring more Young People to pursue a creative future.
We are thrilled to be part of the National Saturday Club network that has been running since 2009. It provides 13-to-16 year olds with the opportunity to study subjects they love for free and has a proven track record of making a difference in young people's lives. This is a unique opportunity in Kent with an exciting programme of workshops, tutors and trips.
“Attending the Saturday Club has improved my outlook on the future 100%” - Club Member
But we need your help… to run the sessions we are applying for grants, funding pots and fundraising via Crowdfunder. We have set a fundraising goal of £17,500 that will pay local creatives to deliver unique workshops, cover materials & food, and help pay for trips.
As an additional heart-strings-pull, we need to talk about art provision for young people - art has been pushed down and out of the national curriculum and there is now no foundation course at a dedicated art school in Kent for Young People to join when they finish school. The Saturday Club can help fill part of this void, so please give what you can, many small donations are as important and valued as fewer large ones. All donations will be processed through the TMS charity - if you pay tax, please fill in the Gift Aid information, as that will release an extra 25p for every pound given, it all makes a difference.
Together we can support Young People's futures and the future of the arts in Kent.
Club Member - “Zine making was the most creative and freeing project that has led me to pursue comics outside the club, even as a career and I will be forever grateful”
The club will consist of weekly Saturday sessions exploring and developing skills and finding pathways to further study and careers in a friendly and welcoming environment, encouraging experimentation within the arts.
We are building a generation of young people who are agile and resilient problem-solvers with the confidence to access pathways into education, apprenticeships and employment. The Saturday Club sessions will be open to all 13 to 16-year-olds, with a particular focus on reaching young people from Widening Participation groups.
Discover more about the National Saturday Club.
Learn more about The Margate School.
Read about the Art&Design Saturday Club Graduation.
What your donation will help us deliver
The Margate School Art&Design Saturday Club will give young people the opportunity to develop practical skills in graphic design, visual communication, screen printing and photography experimenting with both digital and analogue photography and working with professionals from within the creative field with a focus on getting them ‘industry ready’.
Young people will develop new skills in art, design, teamwork and communication during the activities. The workshops will be delivered in an informal setting that will engage with those not necessarily suited to an academic environment.
The final work will be shown at Somerset House, London and at Margate Festival of Design, which is now entering its third year.
Up to 30 sessions will be run regularly during term time for 13 to 16-year-olds on Saturday mornings, running from October 2025 to July 2025.
Why it’s a great idea
Saturday Club is new to Thanet and to Kent, providing access to extra-curricular creative learning opportunities for 13 to 16-year-olds, the group will be open to up to 20 young people
The Club will teach employable creative skills, and introduce them to an array of creative jobs through talks and workshops with guest tutors.
It creates volunteering opportunities that teach new skills and can lead to further careers
Raising aspirations for young people, through showing their work in the prestigious Somerset House, learning about different journeys into higher education & creative careers, and exploring the opportunities that are local to them.
It will introduce Young People to creatives and organisations in their town
More creative and social activities indirectly create a safer neighbourhood
Building understanding between different local groups: Art is a powerful and humanising way to communicate experiences across cultures and social groups
Generating community discussions on social issues through the artwork created
Addressing and reducing social inequalities by reaching out to food banks, community centres, schools and diverse local neighbourhoods
Engagement with the arts can open the door to improved academic performance, employability and more
Engagement with arts and culture can improve physical and mental health
The programmes will reduce loneliness and isolation
Contribution to creating a sense of community identity and pride in place
The provision will be a small step towards substituting for the access course which has recently closed in Canterbury, leaving no art-specific courses at a dedicated art school available in Kent for 16-year-olds
Steps to get it done
August & September: Recruitment and fundraising
Beginning of September: Finalise workshop timetable, confirm tutors & volunteers
End of September: Places confirmed with Young People
October: Saturday Club starts
November: Trip to London
Spring: Masterclass Trip
July: Graduation & Summer Show at Somerset House
July/August: Project evaluation
October: Group work shown at Margate Festival of Design
Please note, that all funds raised will go directly to The Margate School to fund the Saturday Club programme. This funding will be match-funded by the National Saturday Club for our local Saturday Club programme in-keeping with their unique partnership framework which delivers the national programme of events and activities including Masterclasses with industry, cultural visits, the Summer Show and Graduation Ceremony, and a Tutors’ Programme.