Charter Scholars design Gorleston's New Youth Space to develop creative design skills for young people 

A new youth space has opened in Gorleston, designed to foster creativity and develop the skills and interests of pupils in art and creative design. The space, located in the new building that was previously Belly Boos, was launched on Friday 24th November with pupils from Great Yarmouth Charter Academy to provide designs to use for a tattoo-inspired skateboard deck, and is now open for young people to use in the New Year. 

The opening event was marked with a skateboard workshop held for year 10s and the after-school art club. Over 30 students attended the workshop, making it a definite success and enjoyed by everyone involved. 

The workshop was led by Mat Dale from East Coast College art department, Jackson Harmer and Ben Stone from The Vault in Gorleston. The project will be displayed in the new space which will function as a community hub celebrating art and music. The space will serve as a creative space for young people to use. 

Speaking about the project, Ben Stone explained, “It was great to see young people so excited by the project”. Mat Dale said “Thank you to the teachers for welcoming us to the school and the opportunity to get the students involved in this community project. This allows them to start thinking about working on a set brief as an artist or designer and will be a great confidence builder when the final decks are displayed”.  

Sean Powell, Senior Vice Principal overseeing Personal Development at the school said,

“At Charter, we believe that it is important to develop social entrepreneurial skills and the next business leaders in the east coast. The new youth space in Gorleston is just one part of a larger strategy that we have in place to foster creativity, encourage innovation and provide our students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the future."  

Scholars have until 15th December 2023 to submit a skateboard design to be part of the project. If you are interested please contact Mrs Dale from the art department for a project sheet.