broadening cultural engagement
Eastbourne College works with a number of organisations, ranging from other educational establishments to creative practitioners and national arts organisations such as Culture Shift, Royal Opera House, Lewes Live Literature, Pure Arts Group, Towner Eastbourne and Motionhouse. We also work with individual artists and organisations, such as the RSA, to give lecture, project, recital and workshop opportunities for our pupils.
We also work with local community organisations and charities and are an integral part of the Coastal Schools Partnership.
Coastal Schools Partnership
Benefiting pupils and the community
Eastbourne College is a founding member of the Coastal Schools Partnership (CSP), of 11 schools and colleges: Cavendish School, Eastbourne Academy, Eastbourne College, East Sussex College, Gildredge House, Hailsham Community School,Ratton School, Seaford Head, St Catherine’s College, The Turing School, Willingdon Community School. The CSP celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2024.
Mission Statement
The CSP is a partnership of schools and colleges located in the Eastbourne area. By linking our commitment, enthusiasm, expertise and resources, we aim to develop projects and ideas that excite, inspire and offer creative opportunities for children and young people. In so doing, we hope to enable our pupils to work together for mutual benefit and the benefit of others across our town.
Sussex University Routes into University Day for CSP pupils
“Eastbourne College does great stuff giving back to the community as part of the Coastal Schools Partnership.” Josh attended Cavendish School, one of our partner schools.
RECENT highlights include:
The Turner Prize coming to the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne, 2023-2024
We are regularly asked to partner creative bids; a recent example was our help in levering in close to half a million pounds of Arts Council funding for the Turner Towner wrap around project 2023-24. Our targets included the delivery of a programme engaging all Year 9 pupils across the partnership with contemporary arts practice through a wraparound project.
The engagement with the Turner Prize through the Eastbourne Alive project was evaluated by Common Vision and Shared Intelligence and we were fully engaged in this process. These findings will feed into an overall strategy focusing on the engagement of young people following the Turner Prize and the Towner has appointed a full-time skills and opportunities producer who will continue in this role after the Turner Prize; we will continue to work closely with them on next steps for young people’s engagement. Our Head of Partnership will work closely with evaluation partners to look at participation and well-being outputs both for young people across the Partnership. These findings will inform further initiatives around creativity, health and well-being and diversity.
“Working with the partnership has helped us better understand our role as an arts institution in supporting teachers and students and as a catalyst for creativity in schools in Eastbourne and beyond.” Esther Collins, Education Director of the Towner
Towner Seven Sisters project
The CSP works closely with the Towner on the development of a new creative/environmental centre at the Towner Seven Sisters project based at Black Robin Farm near Beachy Head. This was funded by £11 million from the levelling up fund, and the CSP’s support for the project was crucial in the scheme being passed. The aim is that it will become a base for the new Natural History GCSE (Eastbourne College sits on the OCR strategic steering group for this GCSE).
Culture Shift
We are working with Culture Shift on the project Be Our Best Selves (BOBS) which tackles real and significant challenges faced by young people, particularly considering the pandemic experience. In 2023 we piloted a programme in two of our partnership schools. We have now evaluated this, and since then we have introduced the programme at another partner school. Our goal is to roll it out as a wider programme in consultation with our partnership schools.
Environment Agency Coastal Defence Programme
Young people across the CSP are working with the Environment Agency to consider the coastal erosion impact. We hosted a creativity and environmental conference in November 2023 focusing on climate change and the behaviour change needed to address this. This involved an art exhibition, interactive workshops led by the Environmental Agency and the Director of Moving Brands and Madefire, Ben Wolstenholme, and the House of Lords climate change committee attended this. We worked on a project focusing on people, place, and ecology of the area, using poetry, photography and visual arts, culminating in an exhibition on Ocean Day in June 2024. This year The EA are working with CSP pupils to gain their input on how to engage young people with the coast. They are also providing ongoing career advice.
