Today, Burberry announces it is partnering with The BRIT School to support fashion education and help young people from global majority backgrounds to enter the creative industry. As part of the two-year partnership, Burberry will sponsor the school’s Fashion, Styling and Textile (FST) course and introduce a Stepping Stones Bursary Prize to final-year students.
The BRIT School introduced the post-16 level FST course in 2021. This UAL accredited extended diploma explores a variety of technical skills from textiles and pattern cutting, to photography, styling, fashion illustration and graphic design.
Burberry’s sponsorship of the FST course will help the school to continue to offer world-class facilities and educational off-site visits at no cost to families. Course attendees will also benefit from Burberry’s participation in The BRIT School’s student enrichment programme; a scheme that allows industry experts to offer group and individual mentorship to impart learnings, industry-specific skills and career guidance.
With a shared commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Burberry and The BRIT School are also proud to launch the Burberry Stepping Stones Bursary Prize. The prize will offer two graduating year 13 students of global majority backgrounds financial support as they embark on a creative career.
This announcement follows the brand’s expansion of its Burberry Inspire programme and echoes the initiative’s core values by using creativity to open up opportunities for young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
“I couldn’t have imagined what my time at The BRIT School would give me and how the creativity and industry insight provided there would help shape my career over the years. Through this partnership , we hope to help students of the Fashion, Styling & Textiles course fulfil their career ambitions, and create a more inclusive pipeline of upcoming creatives in the fashion industry.”
"This is a defining moment for The BRIT School to be partnering with Burberry, a leader in the British creative industries. The BRIT School is both a shelter for students to be who they want to be and a springboard to achieve ambitious career goals in the creative world. Through Burberry’s generous support, we’re looking forward to connecting our students to industry professionals and offering enhanced facilities on our Fashion Styling & Textiles course for students to train to professional standards and be industry ready."
NOTES TO EDITORS
About The 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 10,000 students have been educated at The BRIT School, including Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, Katie Melua, Leona Lewis, Tom Holland, Jade Bird, Freya Ridings, 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, billions of streams and winning 15 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 2023 Key Statistics
The BRIT School is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and the well-being of our students.
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.
Mental health: 17% (over 230 students) were referred to our Counselling Service in 2021/2022 (747 hours of therapeutic services provided).
The BRIT School & Academic achievement
The BRIT School’s mission is to prepare students for careers in the creative industries by offering a match-fit vocational qualification accredited by UAL.
At post-16, our UAL level 3 results are significantly above the national average with 71% of the cohort gaining a Distinction at UAL which is the highest possible grade and is the equivalent of three As at A-level. The national average for Distinction grades is 27.4%.
What parents say: +97% said they would recommend The BRIT School to another parent, and 97% said their child is happy at The BRIT School.
@TheBRITSchool
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.
About Burberry Inspire
In June 2023, Burberry announced that it was expanding The Burberry Foundation’s flagship community initiative, Burberry Inspire, into a global youth empowerment programme to support young people.
Designed in partnership between Burberry Group plc, The Burberry Foundation and global partner, International Youth Foundation (IYF), the expanded Burberry Inspire programme aims to create opportunities for more than 500,000 young people over the next three years to unlock their creativity and drive positive change in their lives and communities.
With a focus on young people aged between 10 and 24, the programme will inspire, equip and elevate their voices by taking a wider and more holistic approach to channelling creativity. Using frameworks defined by the Creative Youth Development National Partnership, the programme will not only foster creativity through the visual and performing arts, but also support STEM-related skills and encourage leadership through both personal development and social engagement.
