You can help create a space for everyone
Support our ambitious project and help return our Grade 2 listed assembly hall to its original vision - a world-class performance space for our students and the local community.
Tell me more
When the hall was designed in 1966, it was at the forefront of theatre design. The exciting new opportunities it brought for our students soon led to the school becoming renowned for its creativity and performing arts. However, over the years, the hall has fallen into a state of disrepair – not only limiting its use by the student body, but also eroding a key piece of the school’s identity.
Former students represented the third largest group of respondents in a survey about the possible uses of a refurbished assembly hall behind families and staff.
Years of minor alterations and short-term fixes have led to a space that’s unsuitable in many ways for drama and music. The current layout has poor acoustics, a staging area without changing facilities and no access to the unique amphitheatre outside.
A newly refurbished Assembly Hall would provide an inspiring environment for our students to create, perform and exhibit. Over a quarter of the school’s student population responded to a survey about the renovation project, and 59% agreed that the arts should be a primary use for the hall.
It would also answer an increasing demand for a low-cost space for the wider local community to access and engage with. Camden, our local authority, has significant levels of deprivation, and 47% of our student body qualify for pupil premium funding.
It would be great to have a performing arts school after school and weekends, that puts on shows
Y8 Student
…art show hall and a place for bands and plays to take place
Y7 Student
…a place for people express their creativity
Y8 Student
A community space
A refurbished Assembly Hall could be an exciting and valuable resource for our wider local community – a clear majority of people who took part in our survey said that they would want to attend arts (88%) or charity (61%) events at the venue.
The charity Crisis used the School building and hall for two years running to provide food and shelter for the homeless.
Your help so far
With your help so far, the school has been able to enlist renowned theatre architects Haworth Tompkins to carry out the first stage of the project. The proposals in their feasibility study would see the hall become one of the most versatile and high-tech theatre spaces in London with innovative new staging, seating, lighting and sound. A space with gallery facilities would support both temporary and permanent art displays, and there would be improved disabled accessibility throughout.
The feasibility study in full
- Return the interior to its former layout and re-discover the world-class acoustics of the space;
- Install innovative mechanisms to enable the stage and seating layout to be adjusted;
- Install modern theatre technology, including lighting, sound, blackout and ventilation;
- Refurbish the entrance foyer, adding a refreshment area and catering facilities;
- Maximise the use of the unique amphitheatre by providing access from the inside;
- Improve the disabled accessibility, and;
- Install gallery facilities to support both temporary and permanent art displays.
Thank you to everyone who contributed towards the funding of the feasibility study by making or buying artwork, volunteering or donating straight to the cause during the abSecretArtAuction in December 2018.
The next stage
The School Trust needs to raise £1.3 million to get this ambitious, yet vital project off the ground. We’re working hard to secure funding through various trusts – but we’ll still need support from families, staff and friends of the school.
Stay in touch
Want to know the latest news on A Theatre for All ? Sign up to our newsletter by emailing Yana Markey on ymarkey@aclandburghley.camden.sch.uk or read about all of the project's successes, events and community champions in the previous issues below.
June 2020 | Issue 3: A Theatre for All in lockdown
January 2020 | Issue 2: A Theatre for All
November 2019 | Issue 1: A Theatre for All first steps
Ways to donate
Every donation really does make a difference. As part of our school community, you can play a key role in bringing this project to life for all our students. Please, if you can, donate today – and then help spread the word about this exciting project.
Standing Order
With a regular donation you can help us plan ahead and manage our income. Simply fill in this form or sign up on line:
One-off Donation
If you would like to send a cheque please make it payable to Acland Burghley School Trust and send it to the address below. If you pay tax in the UK, don’t forget to download the Gift Aid form.
Acland Burghley School Trust can reclaim the basic rate tax (25%) on your gift at no extra cost to you. So, if you donate £10, it’s worth £12.50 to the Trust.
Give as you Live
If you shop online register with Give as you Live. This will mean retailers funnel a few pennies from their profits to the Trust every time you shop online with no cost or hassle to you. Each person who signs up is worth on average at least £25 a year to Acland Burghley, so if every parent signed up we could raise £50,000 a year!