Gainsborough’s House is delighted to announce it has joined the National Saturday Club network and is launching a new, free-to-attend Art&Design Saturday Club for 13–16-year-olds.
We are thrilled to open applications for new Club Members and to start recruiting this summer. Free and open to young people of all abilities, the Saturday Club will run from Saturday 5 October 2024 to Saturday 28 June 2025 at Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury. There will also be a Summer Show and Graduation Ceremony in July 2025.
Please visit our National Saturday Club page for more details and to apply to join our Club.
The National Saturday Club offers young people a unique opportunity to explore subjects they love for free, to build new skills, discover their talents, meet new people, and to explore future study and career possibilities. Weekly Saturday classes will be led by tutors at Gainsborough’s House and will cover a breadth of exciting and engaging topics including illustration, graphics, photography, sculpture and mixed media.
In addition, Club members will participate in National Saturday Club events including Masterclasses with leading industry professionals, the Summer Show where Saturday Clubs nationwide exhibit their work in a public exhibition, and a Graduation Ceremony for Club members to celebrate their achievements – all for free.
We are very excited to be able to offer this provision for free to 13–16-year-olds in the local area as part of the Gainsborough’s House Facing the Future Project supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Throughout the year a team of extremely dedicated and knowledgeable practitioners, currently working and teaching in the world of Art & Design, will work with our young people to nurture confidence and creativity. We can’t wait to see what they get up to!
— Charlie Dixon, Club Coordinator
About National Saturday Club
Across the UK, the National Saturday Club gives 13–16-year-olds the opportunity to study subjects they love for free at their local university, college or cultural institution.
The National Saturday Club programme is free, has no exams and offers 13–16-year-olds a unique opportunity to build their skills, develop their confidence, and discover pathways to further study and future careers. Saturday Clubs are currently offered in six subjects: Art&Design, Craft&Making, Fashion&Business, Film&Screen, Performance&Theatre, Society&Change, Science&Engineering and Writing&Talking.
With a particular focus on engaging young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and underrepresented communities, the National Saturday Club’s established model has proven impact. The programme offers a transformational opportunity to build skills, develop confidence and discover pathways to further study and future careers.
Club members attend weekly Saturday classes led by expert tutors in their local community and take part in national events throughout the year including visits to leading cultural institutions, Masterclasses with industry, a Summer Show exhibition of all Club members’ work at London’s prestigious Somerset House, and a Graduation Ceremony. A remarkable national network of further education, higher education, the cultural sector and industry works together in partnership to deliver these enriching extracurricular activities.
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