Innovative Nick rewarded for creativity in inspiring children
A Shropshire father has been awarded a place in a prestigious yearbook for his lockdown schools project.
Nick Corston, from Ludlow, has recently been awarded a place on the Edtech50, which is a celebration of people, products and organisations who are shaping the use of education technology across the UK.
Nick is behind STEAM Co. – a non-profit community project set up around 10 years ago– co-founded by parents, teachers and the local community.
The project helps school communities run creativity days to inspire children to be creative, to find their passion and develop life aspiration.
An Edtech50 judge said: "STEAM Co. has been speaking virtually to thousands of children, young adults and adults in communities up and down the country. They have been true champions for creativity and the arts in our schools"
When Covid-19 struck, school sessions were cancelled, but thanks to funding from Arts Council England and the DCMS Culture Recovery Fund, Nick built a green screen internet TV studio at home.
Since then, he has run:
A three day mini Glastonbury Festival at Ludlow Primary School during Ludlow Fringe, as if on a cardboard pyramid stage
A UK school tour as if on a cardboard model of Coventry Cathedral, complete with a tower that is seen to launch into space
Just before Christmas, a Mission To Mars UK tour was sponsored by SpaceX Mission to put the green screen studio in the back of a camper van which appeared to live stream into schools it visited
Now Nick, who was a patron of the Ludlow Fringe Festival last summer, has launched an appeal to raise one million pounds this year to roll the project out across the UK and inspire children nationally.
He said: "Elon Musk has said he wants to take a million people to Mars in 30 years, well we need to inspire our kids to aim as high as that by helping them find their passion.
"What better goal for me than to 'raise a Million Quids to Inspire A Million Kids'."
This year will see the Government's national UNBOXED festival of creativity take place from March to October and Nick is keen to see STEAM Co included in this and to see their pop-up creativity trucks being set up across the UK.
Nick gave up his career to roll out the project across the UK and has run sessions in schools from Cornwall to Carlisle, Cardiff to Belfast.
To find out more visit steamco.org.uk
