Winners announced for the first round of a new “Skills Fund” for coastal areas of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Norfolk
Ørsted, the renewable energy company formerly known as DONG Energy, is delighted to announce that decisions have now been reached on the first round of their new £75,000 Skills Fund.
Two deserving organisations share £55,000 for projects that will deliver Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) related educational activities. The first award goes to the Grimsby Institute who will receive £41,675 to build on existing investment and expertise and create an annual programme of events designed to excite, inform and spark curiosity to over 2000 students in junior, secondary, higher education across the coastal zones of North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and East Lincolnshire.
The second award of £13,325 goes to Alderman Peel High School in Norfolk who will develop a sustainable STEM development and outreach project over a two-year period where STEM teachers will work with employers to embed real life project activities into the National Curriculum. It will involve Year 7 and Year 8 students, local employers, teachers and relevant external mentors.
A further £20,000 has been targeted to four colleges within the Fund’s coastal area of benefit to be used to help finance local students who are unable to access traditional funding streams for support. The colleges to benefit with grants of £5,000 each are East Riding College, Boston College, the College of West Anglia, and the Grimsby Institute who were absolutely thrilled to receive their second individual grant!
This funding forms part of the company’s £465,000 East Coast Community Fund 20-year annual commitment announced earlier this year, and is part of the community engagement programme for Ørsted’s Hornsea Project One and Race Bank offshore wind farms, which are located off the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Norfolk coast.
As well as contributing £75,000 a year to the East Coast Skills Fund, Ørsted has also partnered with Teach First to transform the skills landscape in the North. As part of this Ørsted support Teach First on a number of challenging targets to improve the teacher attraction and retention, and pupil progression in Grimsby, Hull and Merseyside.
Matthew Wright, Managing Director Ørsted UK, said “We were really pleased to see such a positive reaction to this first round of the STEM Skills Fund which clearly demonstrates the significance and demand for funding of this type within the region. Encouraging and enabling young people to develop STEM skills at an early age is of great importance to us, and this is just one of the ways we are doing that.
“I am delighted to also announce that we will be repeating the application process again next year, and look forward to supporting more STEM activities within the region.”
The Fund is being administered by the independent grant-making charity GrantScape. For further information about the Fund and when and how to apply, please visit their website www.grantscape.org.uk or call them on 01908 247634.Media contacts
Matt Young – GrantScape: 01908 247630 or 07963 987657 matt.young@grantscape.org.uk
Juliette Sanders – Ørsted: +44 (0)207 811 1181
About Ørsted
Ørsted (Nasdaq OMX: DENERG) is one of Northern Europe's leading energy groups and is headquartered in Denmark. Around 5,600 ambitious employees, including over 900 in the UK, develop, construct and operate offshore wind farms, generate power and heat from our power stations as well as supply and trade in energy to wholesale, business and residential customers. The Group generated revenue in 2016 of DKK 61 billion (EUR 8.2 billion). As part of our transformation to green energy we plan to change our name to Ørsted (Nasdaq OMX: ORSTED as of 31 October).
About GrantScape
GrantScape is a grant-making charity committed to enhancing the environment and strengthening local communities through its grant programmes. GrantScape’s experience stretches back to 1997 and it has awarded grants totalling over £80 million to deserving projects over this time.
GrantScape manages a range of community and environmental grant programmes on behalf of corporate and local authority clients. These are tailored to their individual requirements, which is the charity’s speciality. In addition, GrantScape offers a professional project management and grant process review service to groups requiring support with these activities.
For further information, please see: www.grantscape.org.uk or follow us @GrantScape1
About the East Coast Community Fund
Ørsted has committed to a Community Fund worth approximately £465,000 each year for 20 years. £75,000 of the Fund each year is ring-fenced for a ‘Skills Fund’.
The Fund supports community and environmental projects along the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North Norfolk coasts (as far as Wells-next-the-Sea), within a defined area. It is split equally between two annual funding rounds. There are two levels of grants available:
Applications to the Fund are made using an online application system via the GrantScape website: www.grantscape.org.uk.
