FXP Festival launches for 2019 with new creative category
FXP Festival, an East Anglian education initiative which aims to drive social mobility in the region, has announced the launch of its 2019 competition (6-8th July) with the introduction of an exciting new category. Originally formed as a STEM initiative based on a computer game design and development competition, FXP Festival 2019 is expanding to include a ‘Storytelling’ category, which will encourage students to develop both their creative writing and illustration skills. Publishing and education company, The Curved House will be supporting FXP’s Storytelling category with the provision of creative writing workshop materials and one-to-one mentor sessions, with established authors and writers, to help teams to develop their work. Hosted annually by Cambridge Regional College, FXP Festival is linked to the computer science curriculum and, for three years, has successfully been using computer games to increase interest and uptake of STEM subjects, build young people’s digital skills and provide an insight into what careers in the technology, creative digital and related industries might offer. In previous years, there have been two competition categories – ‘Game Concept’ where teams design and map out the creative concept of an original computer game, and ‘Game Development’ where teams programme and build an original game concept. New for 2019, the third category – ‘Storytelling’ – will challenge students to work in teams of up to five, to write and illustrate an original story for publication. The initiative was developed by Cambridge Regional College, Jagex, North Cambridge Academy, and Conscious Communications, and, thanks to its sponsors and supporters, the FXP weekend is completely free for participating teams. Alison Taylor Co-founder of the Festival and Managing Director of Conscious Communications, comments: “FXP Festival is all about providing exciting progression opportunities for the young people in our region. By incorporating elements of the national curriculum, as well as sourcing valuable learning materials from our industry supporters, we aim to provide students with an important connection between what they learn in the classroom, their further and higher education options, and the exciting career opportunities right on their doorstep. “In previous years it has been wonderful to see student teams come to FXP to try their hands at games development and, as a result, engage more with their computer science education. This year, we wanted to expand our reach to students that won’t necessarily have an interest in coding or games design, but might have a hidden flair for other important skills, such as creative writing and art. The ‘Storytelling’ category will give these students the opportunity to develop their abilities with the support of industry experts, while building other important soft skills such as team work, ingenuity and communication.” FXP Festival is supported by major companies in the technology, creative digital, and publishing sectors, which provide expertise, mentoring and coaching to students and their teachers. 2019 supporters include: Anglia Ruskin University, Arm, Rizing Games, Jagex, Table Flip Games and The Curved House. Kristen Harrison, Founder, The Curved House, comments: “The Curved House – alongside our flagship publication, Visual Verse – aims to inspire and celebrate creative writers, both published and unpublished, and we are so excited to use our expertise to develop the next generation of writers at FXP Festival! Ahead of the weekend, we will share valuable creative writing teaching resources with the teams to help them hone their skills in preparation for the competition. We will also run an additional writing competition over the course of the weekend for all participating students, and will publish the winners in our August edition of Visual Verse. The Curved House is excited to bring a range of writing challenges and expertise from the book industry to FXP – to inspire the writers, illustrators and publishers of the future.” FXP 2019 will take place from 6th – 8th July, at the Rizing Games studios at Cambridge Regional College and is open to schools, colleges, home school groups and out-of-school clubs across East Anglia. Teams can register their interest by emailing joanna.colley@consciouscomms.com. If your business would be interested in getting involved with FXP Festival through mentoring, funding or other support please contact Joanna Colley joanna.colley@consciouscomms.com. Find out more
The Mason Trust set to hit even greater heights in 2019!
Since its foundation in 2008 as a charity with the mission of inspiring young people of East Anglia to fulfil their potential, 2018 has been The Mason Trust’s most successful year to date, and the charity is looking forward to 2019 with the intention of bettering that record. It has achieved success in various ways. A total of 64 young people have been helped to achieve their dreams in 2018 by personal funding. These encompass a variety of activities from a volunteering trip to Honduras with Project Trust to scooter hire costs; from a medical placement in the Dominican Republic to piano lessons; from Rotary youth leadership award course fees to performing arts tuition fees, and many more besides. Since being established, the Trust has made 395 grants totalling £602,000 helping in excess of 6,000 young people. G rants from both the Dudgeon Community Fund and the Sheringham Shoal Community Funds have enabled the charity to deliver Renew Your Future energy day workshops to five secondary schools in the Great Yarmouth, North Norfolk and Breckland regions of Norfolk. The workshops are designed to inspire and encourage students to consider studying STEM subjects [Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics] in sixth form or at college, thereby opening up a variety of engineering career options being offered in the region by the offshore wind farm developers and operators. The interactive icanbea… careers guidance website [www.icanbea.org.uk] was used within these energy day workshops to demonstrate how students can explore opportunities in the renewable energy sector and the regional supply chain. It was also the focus for 22 workshops and 25 careers fairs and school assemblies at 47 schools across Norfolk and Suffolk during 2018, and its innovative mobile App attracted much attention at both the Norfolk and Suffolk Skills Shows. Mason Trust founder, Yvonne Mason, is proud of the impact of the charity on the region’s young people in 2018, commenting: “My fellow Trustees and I believe implicitly in the benefits that The Mason Trust can offer our young people. We recently celebrated our 10th anniversary with an Anniversary Ball, all proceeds from which will go towards the continuation of work by The Mason Trust during 2019. We couldn’t think of a better way to both have a good time and to raise funds to take the organisation forward. “The Mason Trust’s aim for 2019 is to continue in the same vein, providing even more of our young people with funding for particular projects, global experiences, ambitions and vocations, and by providing an insight into the world of industry and its many facets.”