Grant giving charity, Talbot Village Trust, has awarded £120,000 to The Sheiling Ringwood to construct a building containing two new classrooms for Sheiling College.
Sheiling College is the only residential provider of specialist college education in Dorset for 19-25-year-olds. The college offers day and residential placements to students locally and across the UK, as it is one of a limited number of colleges accepting students with severe and complex learning disabilities.
The donation was used towards the construction of a new building, containing two purpose-built classrooms, increasing the college’s potential intake to 42 students. The single storey building also includes two disabled toilets and two quiet rooms. Many students benefit from taking some time to themselves in a separate quiet space, away from the busy main classroom. The two quiet rooms will allow students to relax in the calm space and prepare, when ready, to re-enter the main classroom.
Corine van Barneveld, Principal of The Sheiling Ringwood, said: “The generous donation from Talbot Village Trust has enabled Sheiling College to fulfil the dream of creating two purpose-built, spacious classrooms to provide our students with the right environment to learn together in a group, as well as providing the space to work individually on specific tasks. Learning in a social group, as well as concentrating on individual tasks, can be difficult for our students however, these funds allowed the classrooms to be structured in such a way that both styles of learning can be enhanced.
“The Sheiling is grateful to Talbot Village Trust for recognising the potential in our students and, by giving so generously, enabling our learners to progress and move on to more fulfilling lives.”
Russell Lucas-Rowe, Trustee of Talbot Village Trust, added: “We believe that everyone has a right to an education and it is so gratifying to see that our funding has been used in such a way that it is already greatly benefiting students, and will continue to improve future learning for years to come at Sheiling College.”
Talbot Village Trust meets biannually, and will be accepting applications for funding from both previous and new applicants in the area before the Trustees meet in spring next year. Please go to www.talbotvillagetrust.org for more information.