Landmark Programme accelerates the development of skills and creativity of more than 1,600 people in its first year
To mark the one-year anniversary of the first four Goldsmiths’ Foundation Landmark Programme grants being issued, we brought our Landmark Partners together to share knowledge, experience, and insights, to discuss the challenges they have overcome and the progress they have made so far. These form the core of our first Landmark Programme Impact Report, which you can read in full below.
“One year in, our Landmark Programme has reached 1,601 people across prisons, schools, and communities. From young jewellers finding their passion in Birmingham to children discovering their voice through writing in Bradford, we’re seeing the power of skills development to unlock potential and shows people what’s possible. This is just the beginning.”
In November 2023, we announced the first four recipients of the Goldsmiths’ Foundation’s Landmark Programme, who each received transformational multi-year grants of £500,000, designed to accelerate the development of skills and creativity in the UK.
Aston University Engineering Academy’s Goldsmiths Institute is re-establishing and reinvigorating pathways into goldsmithing, silversmithing and allied trades, from primary schools through to the first national Jewellery T-Level course and work placements in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
The National Literacy Trust’s Goldsmiths 500 Writers challenge is a three-year writing initiative to improve the literacy skills of 1,000+ children living in disadvantaged communities across 21 primary schools in Bradford, through fully funded visits to local cultural and heritage venues, alongside teacher training. As part of the programme, pupils will enjoy six fully funded visits to Bradford’s cultural and heritage sites, including theatres, sporting venues, and museums.
St Giles Trust’s three-year peer empowerment programme is enabling prisoner Learners to support others and improve the prison environment, while strengthening employment pathways for 82 learners in 5 prisons to achieve the Level 3 qualification in Advice & Guidance with longer term positive impact for individuals.
St Paul's Landmark Grant is part of a major heritage restoration and conservation project of its Cupola, Ball, and Cross - the structure that rises from the Golden Gallery on top of the Dome, which at 365ft high is an iconic symbol of the City of London. Dating from 1710, and last restored in 1821, the Cupola is now reaching the end of its structural life and requires extensive essential repairs. The multi-million-pound project will raise awareness of heritage craft skills and train apprentices in the skills required for the restoration, such as masonry, lead working and gilding.
To mark the one-year anniversary of these grants being issued, we brought our Landmark Partners together to share knowledge, experience, and insights, to discuss the challenges they have overcome and the progress they have made so far. These form the core of the first Landmark Programme Impact Report, which you can read in full below.
Speaking about the progress made to date, Annie Warburton, CEO and Clerk of the Goldsmiths’ Company said:
“The span of projects in the Goldsmiths’ Foundations’s Landmark Programme is remarkable. They range from equipping prison leavers with skills to rebuild their lives, to training the next generation of talent for Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter; and from a Year 2 ‘reluctant reader’ lit up by the magic of words, to the gleaming tip of St Paul’s Cathedral restored as a beacon for heritage craft skills. At first glance, there might not be all that much in common. Yet, these projects are rooted in deep understanding of the communities they serve.
This first Impact Report takes stock of progress at the end of the programme’s first year. Our partners reached 1,601 people in the last twelve months. But it is not really about numbers. Much more important is each individual life that is touched and transformed. Those individuals, in turn, contribute to transforming their local areas and to evolving their communities of practice to effect lasting, systemic change. In other words, at the heart of this programme are people, practice and places.
There are many early wins. The National Literacy Trust has doubled the number of children it plans to reach in Bradford, City of Culture 2025. St Giles has flexed its delivery in response to challenges in the criminal justice system. St Paul’s has used its Landmark Grant as the impetus for creating the International Wren Centre of Excellence. And the Goldsmiths Institute at Aston University Engineering Academy (AUEA) has welcomed the nation’s first cohort of the Jewellery T-Level course.
One year in, at Goldsmiths’ Foundation, we couldn’t be prouder of our partners. With grit, imagination and determination, each is making a tangible difference to making their corner of the world just a little bit better. We can’t wait to see what they do next. ”