The Aldgate and Allhallows Foundation is pleased to announce four new grants to help boost educational opportunity in Tower Hamlets and the City of London.
Our £20,000 grant to the Migration Museum will fund a project helping young people learn about Britain’s rich and complex migration story.
The Migration Museum has spent more than a decade creating engaging exhibitions, events and learning programmes that illuminate how migration has shaped individuals, communities and the nation. Its education team has a strong record of delivering dynamic, story-led workshops to thousands of students each year.
This new 12-month project will enable the museum to work closely with up to 20 schools across Tower Hamlets, engaging thousands of students and teachers through a mixture of workshops, assemblies and teacher development sessions. The history and culture of London’s East End has been shaped by migration perhaps more than anywhere else in Britain. This project provides an ideal setting for young people to connect their own experiences and family histories with Britain’s wider migration narrative.
Our £20,000 grant to the Anne Frank Trust will enable the delivery of its Core Programme in 6 schools, plus further anti-prejudice workshops and its innovative Ambassadors Programme.
The Anne Frank Trust empowers young people to recognise and challenge antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and all forms of prejudice. Their programmes are proven to transform attitudes, with independent evaluation showing significant improvements in understanding, empathy and critical thinking.
With our support, the Trust will reach more than 5,000 young people over two years. Through exhibitions, peer-education training, and interactive workshops, students will explore themes of identity, discrimination and social responsibility. A select group of young Ambassadors will also receive mentoring and leadership development, enabling them to become confident advocates for equality within their schools and communities. We are proud to support this important work at a time when many young people face rising hate and division.
Our £20,000 grant to the Institute of Imagination will enable the delivery of a year-long creative learning programme for children and families in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the East End.
Through co-designed workshops and immersive family events, the programme will support children in developing cognitive, social and emotional skills, while equipping parents with practical tools to foster creativity at home.
Delivered in trusted local spaces including the Young V&A museum in Bethnal Green, the project aims to address the reduced access to arts education faced by disadvantaged communities. The project is expected to lead to measurable improvements in creative confidence, family connection and children’s problem-solving skills, supported by qualitative and observational data.
We are also proud to announce three years of new funding which will continue our longstanding relationship with Centre of the Cell, Queen Mary University of London’s pioneering biomedical science learning centre. Our £60,000 grant will help expand the Centre’s Youth Scheme, which already engages more than 1,200 14-19 year olds.
Since opening in 2009 inside a working research laboratory, Centre of the Cell has welcomed almost 300,000 visitors and become a vibrant hub for science education in East London. Their Youth Scheme plays a vital role in this mission: It offers work experience, mentoring, summer schools and tailored support for young people who may face barriers to careers in STEM.
Our new grant will fund two key roles essential to delivering and strengthening this work: the Youth Scheme Lead and Youth Scheme Officer. Together, they will grow the programme, develop new research-inspired activities, and enhance long-term tracking of participant outcomes.
Are you a charity or education provider working in Tower Hamlets or the City of London? If you have a great idea for an educational project to address disadvantage and create opportunities, take a look at our application criteria to find out if you could be eligible.