In 2023 The BRIT School was thrilled to announce Britain's leading luxury fashion brand, Burberry as Principal Partner of the Fashion, Styling & Textile course. This innovative post-16 UAL accredited course enables young people, regardless of background, the opportunity to embark on a career in the fashion industry. The impact of the partnership has been transformative, through industry-led masterclasses and financial support to enable The School to deliver this vocational course to 50 students studying the Fashion, Styling and Textiles route within the Visual Arts & Design department. 

With the continued erosion of arts subjects in schools nationally (since 2010, there has been an overall decline of 42% in arts GCSE entries and a 21% decrease in arts entries at A-Level), The BRIT School represents a driving force in creative arts education. As the UK’s first and leading free performing and creative arts school for 1,400 young people aged 14 to 19, the School – an exempt charity based in Croydon – invests in the future of the UK’s cultural wealth by nurturing young artistic talent from all backgrounds and is teaching the skills needed by the rapidly growing creative industries. However, we crucially need partners like Burberry to support our programmes and help safeguard these vocational courses for the next generation of creative young people.

In addition to Burberry’s financial contribution, two key elements at the heart of the partnership are a student enrichment programme of talks and workshops and a bursary prize for students from global majority backgrounds. The enrichment programme has seen Burberry staff from a variety of departments within the business visit The School, meet students, and deliver Q&A and practical sessions. Sharing their expertise and industry insights and greatly enhancing the student experience:

“through the talks, I gained a thorough understanding of the fashion industry and how it works from the inside …how different departments within fashion work and what they do”

“I learned how the fashion industry functions…their creative practices, team collaboration and how they adapt clothes based on their heritage wear” 

“…they gave me a new and more thorough understanding of the fashion industry and how it works from the inside as well as how different departments within the fashion work and what they do”

“they have hugely developed my skill set, as well as boosted my confidence and networking skills. I feel much more prepared for University, and I feel at a much higher level of skill” 

The Burberry Stepping Stones Bursary Prize is each year given to two graduating Year 13 students. As well as financial support for their post-BRIT studies and practice we are thrilled that last year’s winners Nathan Edwards & Nomin Odgerel will be benefiting from a work placement with Burberry at their London HQ this summer.

To celebrate the first year of the partnership, Max Oakton, Early Careers Manager at Burberry visited The BRIT School to announce this year’s Bursary Prize winners. We are thrilled that Mia Golding (aged 18) & Arianna Bellusci (aged 17) have been selected. On receiving the award, the winners said:

Arianna - “This bursary means so much for me and I can't wait to use the money to further develop my skills and work. I would love to use the money to upgrade my sewing equipment to help me create high quality products and experiment with designs for my school work and my business. After BRIT I will be doing a Foundation Course at UAL for Textiles and Design. It is such an honour to participate in this collaboration and thank you so much for this opportunity.”

Mia - “I am so grateful to have been selected to receive the Burberry bursary. I want to put this money towards my craft, to better the quality of my work and push me in my career choice. It will provide me with the tools to support me with my UG BA Pattern Cutting studies at London College of Fashion in September.”

From left to right Geoffrey Williams, VP Colleague Attraction and Inclusion at Burberry, Mia Golding and Arianna Bellusci, the Burberry Stepping Stones Bursary winners, and Max Oakton, Early Careers Manager at Burberry.

Huge thanks to Burberry for their ongoing support of The BRIT School and our students.

About BRIT School 

The BRIT School is the UK’s first and leading free performing and creative arts school for 1,400 young people aged 14 to 19. The School – an exempt charity based in Croydon – invests in the future of the UK’s cultural wealth by nurturing young artistic talent from all backgrounds and teaching the skills needed by the rapidly growing creative industries. BRIT stands for the British Record Industry Trust. Without the generosity of the record industry and funding from the BRIT Awards and BRIT Trust, the School would never have been built and its superb facilities would never have been installed. 

The School opened in 1991 and over 13,000 students have been educated at The BRIT School including Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, Katie Melua, Leona Lewis, Tom Holland, Jade Bird, RAYE, The Feeling, Rizzle Kicks, Cush Jumbo, Blake Harrison, The Kooks and black midi. In total, students from the School have been responsible for selling over 250m albums, 69 billions of streams, and rising and winning 22 BRIT Awards, 19 Grammys, 2 BAFTAS, 2 Oscars, a Laurence Olivier Award, a UK Theatre Award, and a London Evening Standard Award.

The BRIT School’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion programme is deeply embedded with a commitment to breaking down social and financial barriers for young people who want creativity as part of their future, regardless of their background, beliefs or who they are.

 

2024 Key Statistics 

The BRIT School is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and to the well-being of our students. 

• 44% of students are from a Global Majority background - significantly higher than 34.1% of pupils in secondary schools in England. 

(Source: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics) 

• 32% of students are from low-income families of which 10% rely on free school meals. This equates to +10,000 subsidised lunches every year.

• 21% of students have Additional Educational Needs compared to 14.1% in state-funded secondary schools in England. 

(Source: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england) 

• Mental Health: 17% (over 230 students) were referred to our Counselling Service in 21/22 (747 hours of therapeutic hours provided) 

About Burberry

Burberry is a British luxury brand headquartered in London, UK.
Founded in 1856, Burberry is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BRBY.L) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. BURBERRY, the Equestrian Knight Design, the Burberry Check and the Thomas Burberry Monogram and Print are all trademarks belonging to Burberry.