Aspire Sussex win £1 million bid to build better opportunities across the South East

Aspire Sussex Adult Education and partners have been successful in bids to the – Building Better Opportunities programme and have received funding totalling just over £1 million.

Building Better Opportunities is a programme jointly funded by the Big Lottery Fund and the European Social Fund.

They will be leading two new projects across the Coast to Capital LEP area (East and West Sussex, Surrey, Brighton and Hove).

The two projects involve working with a range of partners who will bring expertise to provide targeted family-focused provision through family learning and community inclusion, supporting hard to reach groups and individuals to return to work.

Robyn Kohler, Chief Executive Officer for Aspire Sussex, said: “Both projects have the potential to significantly improve the lives of individuals, families and local communities. We are delighted to have this opportunity, and to have been successful in both bids. Our teams and partners have been working on the development stage of these projects since we received initial funding in November last year and we are looking forward to offering new courses and opportunities to volunteer from October.”

For further information on the project, please email Robyn Kohler at [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

Building Better Opportunities

  • The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK. It puts people in the lead to improve their lives and communities, often through small, local projects.
  • It is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Every year it invests over £650 million and awards around 12,000 grants across the UK for health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
  • Since June 2004 it has awarded over £8 billion to projects that change the lives of millions of people.
  • The project has received up to £ of funding from the Big Lottery Fund and the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England. The Department for Work and Pensions is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme. Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding

Celebrating student success in beautiful Burgess Hill

Aspire Sussex Hair and Beauty students have been recognised for their achievements at an awards event in Burgess Hill.

The annual event organised by Aspire Sussex last month celebrated the achievements of the Hair and Beauty department at their Marle Place Adult Education Centre in Burgess Hill.

Aspire Sussex CEO Robyn Kohler said: “We are extremely proud of what our students achieve and the hard work and commitment they display throughout their course. This event is an excellent showcase of what can be achieved on one of our Hair and Beauty courses, as well as celebrating individual progress.”

“We keep the class sizes small on our Hair and Beauty courses to ensure everyone gets the best learning experience and we are very proud of the number of students who go on to get jobs with salons or set up their own business. The quality of teaching on these courses is highly regarded by local employers and our team are already looking forward to welcoming new students next term.”

The awards for beauty were:

  • Student of the Year –  Emma Leaney
  • Achiever of the Year – Kayley Smith

The awards for hair were:

  • Level 2 Student of Year – Angela Taylor
  • Level 3 Student of Year – Jessica Collins
  • Level 2 Achiever of the Year – Zana Kuklyte

Aspire Sussex still have some places left on Hair and Beauty courses starting in September. To find out more, please contact 01444 810710 or visit www.aspiresussex.org.uk