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Government grant to transform Southampton college hall into performance venue

Richard Taunton Sixth Form College will receive the grant to transform the hall into a venue for students and the public

Richard Taunton Sixth Form College music students (Image: Richard Taunton Sixth Form College)

Richard Taunton Sixth Form College in Southampton is set to receive a grant to transform its hall into a professional performance venue.

The £80,000 grant from the government's Local Skills Improvement Fund will see the hi-tech venue open for students and eventually the public. Curriculum manager Rob Collier said some of the grant will fund a professional standard lighting rig, control desk and sound system for the college’s main hall as well as upgrading sound and lighting in its rehearsal spaces.

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Mr Collier said: “We want them to get the opportunity to work with the best equipment when they are here so that when they go into the industry the kit they have been learning on will be at least as good as the technology they will be working with. They will be training on the best quality equipment we can offer.”

The new equipment, due to be installed over the course of the next academic year, will eventually mean the college’s hall can be hired out as a public performance space for theatrical productions, gigs and lectures. The college plans to make further grant bids to fund retractable seating and dedicated changing facilities. In addition, it plans to launch a new T-level media and broadcast production for the 2025/26 academic year.

“It makes it the hall the heart of the college,” added Mr Collier. “It sits in the middle of the college so it needs to be the centrepiece of everything we do, which it absolutely will be now because it will have those facilities in place.

“We would like it to become the heart of the local community as well, a centre point that people can gravitate to.”

Richard Taunton principal Angela Berry said: “I’m delighted for all of our students and the community in general that we will be getting this equipment and upgrading the hall, it will become a fantastic performance space.