County’s creative teens can develop their talent for free at University of Northampton’s Saturday Club

Teenagers in Northamptonshire have the chance to study a series of creative subjects at the University of Northampton, absolutely free of charge.

The National Saturday Club gives 13-to-16 year olds across the UK the opportunity to study subjects they love at their local university, for free.

The University will launch the first Saturday Club session on Saturday 21 September, and they will continue through to March 2020, with around 20 sessions in total.

There are 25 spaces available for the club, which takes place between 10am and 1pm at Waterside Campus.

Subjects covered will include leather and footwear, fashion, illustration and textiles, fine art and use of colour, photography, illustration and etching.

A Saturday Club session at UON. Photo: The Saturday Club Trust Magnus Andersson

A Saturday Club session at UON. Photo: The Saturday Club Trust Magnus Andersson

A Saturday Club session at UON. Photo: The Saturday Club Trust Magnus Andersson

Presenting work at a Saturday Club session at UON. Photo: The Saturday Club Trust Magnus Andersson

Those taking part will have the chance to exhibit their work, alongside other Saturday Club members’ work from across the UK, in London next year.

This year, Saturday Club members at the University took part in a masterclass with Katie Greenyer, Creative Director of fashion and leisure company, Pentland Group – watch a video of the session on the Saturday Club website.

Katie and her team helped the youngsters to come up with new designs of Kickers shoes – with three of the best designs made into actual shoes. The shoes and all of the designs were exhibited at Somerset House, in London, in June.

Caroline Lloyd, Saturday Club Co-ordinator and Programme Leader for Fashion Promotion & Communication at the University, said: “The Saturday Club offers many opportunities for young people to experience a variety of possible career destinations, and to build their confidence in different subject areas.

“It enables them to explore and develop their skills across a variety of creative and practical classes, and build an understanding of possible career goals which can then be supported by pursuing their future career dreams at university.”

Caroline added: “The Masterclass with Katie Greenyer from Pentland Group was an amazing day, and the team were thrilled to see how many creative ideas for Kickers shoes that the students came up with. Then, to see the real Kickers made up at the Somerset House show, along with all their other projects, was the icing on the cake.”

To find out more and to register for a place, email Katy Adamson at katy.adamson@northampton.ac.uk