Birmingham faces severe social and economic pressure. Vital arts funding has been severely reduced. Although we are Europe’s youngest city, with 40% of population under 25, 40% of our children live in poverty and cultural engagement is low. Evidence shows that the arts have a positive impact on children and young people. We are committed to addressing social inequity through the arts so young people can build skills, experience the transformative power of live theatre and strengthen communities.

For 10 years we have brought change to 250,000 young lives across Birmingham. Hippodrome Education Network (HEN) is our flagship learning programme working with children/young people in 24 partner schools (primary/secondary/SEN) and 5 colleges, 80% are in the UK’s 10% most deprived areas. Without HEN 30,000+ young people would lose access to transformative, creative learning opportunities - workshops, performing, skills building - & the chance to experience the magic of world-class productions.