Showcasing emerging talent across the city of Leeds

Written by James Beaumont on November 11, 2023. Posted in News

Across our campuses, creativity is celebrated, nurtured, and shared with the wider community. We champion early-career creatives and students through exhibitions, performances, and cross-disciplinary competitions, providing platforms for fresh voices to be seen and heard.

At the heart of this is BLANK Gallery, run by the School of Creative Arts. The gallery, alongside its accompanying publication, showcases new contemporary creative practice in Leeds. It offers emerging artists the opportunity to exhibit their work, while the publication invites other creatives to respond – sparking a living dialogue between artists, audiences, and ideas. The gallery hosts four annual exhibitions at our Quarry Hill campus, each highlighting the talent and ambition of rising creatives.

Creativity also took centre stage in the “Let’s Hear It Then” competition, delivered in collaboration with Leeds 2023: Year of Culture. Staff and students submitted original poetry, song lyrics, and rap, with over 100 entries reviewed. Twelve finalists – representing both students and staff – were selected to perform and exhibit their work at the Leeds 2023 Hub, alongside student-created exhibitions displayed in public venues and online. The competition celebrated the diversity of voices across disciplines and demonstrated the creative energy thriving across the group.

Our commitment to emerging talent extended into the public realm during Leeds Light Night 2023, where the Quarry Hill campus hosted a series of striking installations created by staff, students, and professional artists. Among them, lighting, design, and production students built the Leeds Litter Letter installation – a large-scale interactive piece encouraging audience participation. Visitors brought pieces of colourful litter to add to the artwork, transforming waste into a collaborative creative statement and showcasing how art can engage communities while exploring important themes.

Through these initiatives, we continue to elevate new voices, celebrate emerging talent, and connect creative work with audiences across Leeds, ensuring the next generation of artists has the opportunity, visibility, and confidence to flourish.

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Funding to boost adult numeracy skills in West Yorkshire

Written by Jim Jack on May 15, 2023. Posted in News, Teaching and Learning

Two of our colleges have secured nearly £480,000 to boost adult numeracy skills in the region.

Leeds City College and Keighley College will receive just under £434,000 and £45,500 respectively via the Department for Education-led Multiply programme.

They will use the money to fund a multi-pronged push to raise standards among adults who don’t have a Level 2 qualification – roughly equivalent to a GCSE grade 4, or the old C grade – in maths.

The work will involve supporting learners through putting on new, flexible courses designed to fit around their lives, and training more staff to teach numeracy.

A practical focus

The focus will be on functional, rather than theoretical, maths to show how useful it can be in real-life situations ranging from budgeting for shopping to understanding borrowing, credit and interest.

Leeds City College’s Director of Adult Curriculum, Joanne Dye, said: “Everyone talks about how simple budgeting is, but many people find it hard even though it is an essential skill – and especially important now while we face a cost of living crisis.

“We are delighted to have secured funding to deliver this vital programme. We are committed to improving access to numeracy skills for adults in our region, and this programme is an important step in that direction.”

Addressing a costly skills gap

A 2022 report found that more than half – 52% – of adults in West Yorkshire were at ‘entry level and below’ in terms of numeracy. National Numeracy’s research, meanwhile, says low numeracy skills could be costing the UK up to £25 billion a year.

The Multiply programme – which is being funded over three years, with West Yorkshire Combined Authority distributing the finances – will seek to address the issue locally by reengaging adults with maths.

Leeds City College and Keighley College are already piloting a project that asks English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students to take on tasks like banking or supermarket shopping.

The programme will also open up new work and educational possibilities for participants, and take them a step closer to being able to benefit from further support such as the Lifelong Loan Entitlement.

Making maths accessible to all

Luminate Education Group Vice Principal Ann Marie Spry, said: “We need to support those who still need to get Levels 1 and 2 in maths, and have a fear of the subject, to thrive in their personal and professional lives.

“Offering bespoke support, this programme will also help English for Speakers of Other Languages students who struggle with language barriers.

“We hope that through delivering the programme we can help adults in all walks of life develop improved financial skills; from planning their meals, or creating shopping lists and budgets, to understanding taxes and pensions.

“This will enable them to create a system to feel more financially secure, now and in the future.”

Multiply’s aims are part of a wider push by the government to improve and extend maths skills across the country, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announcing his ambition to get everyone studying maths until the age of 18.

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