The Unicorn awarded £180,000 in support of our Schools’ Programme

We’re delighted to have been awarded matching grants of £90,000 from The Portal Trust and the Garfield Weston Foundation to support our Schools’ Partnership Programme over the next three years, up until July 2025.

This hugely enabling support, alongside other generous funding, will help us to fulfil our mission of transforming young lives through theatre. Our aim is to deliver a programme that addresses the substantial imbalance of the arts in schools, enriches children’s engagement with the arts, and supports their education and wellbeing.

Our programme offers sustained working with local London primary schools from across our local boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth and Tower Hamlets. We have three main objectives:

• ensuring that children from underrepresented backgrounds have access to creative experiences in school through co-creational projects with professional theatre-makers, and through trips to our theatre;
• supporting teachers and senior leadership through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and bespoke structured support in order to develop and sustain creative learning long after the project has ended; and
• enabling Unicorn artists to develop their work with children so that our shows are relevant to, and informed by, the young audiences we serve.

Justin Audibert, Artistic Director of Unicorn Theatre:

We believe that children’s voices should be at the heart of what we do. Our Schools’ Partnership Programme provides the opportunity for children to be our Creative Associates, supports teachers to confidently use drama skills across the curriculum, and enables artists to develop work that hears and reflects a diverse range of children’s voices. We are excited to see where this journey takes us and we’re so grateful to our new and continuing funders for journeying with us.

Richard Foley, CEO of The Portal Trust:

The Unicorn Theatre has inspired the imagination of generations of children, its dedication to bringing innovative and exciting theatre to London’s children, the breadth of the productions they stage, their extensive school's programmes, and online resources are truly amazing.

The Portal Trust is proud to be a long-term supporter of its work in London schools, as they continue to play a key role in promoting innovation in teaching and developing the aspirations of young Londoners.

Find out more about the Unicorn’s Engagement Programme for Schools and Communities.

The Unicorn’s Schools Partnership Programme is supported by: Albert R. Broccoli & Dana Broccoli Foundation, Christina Smith Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Old Possum’s Practical Trust, The Portal Trust .