SMB College Group remains in discussion with both Melton Borough Council and the F E Commissioner on the future and direction of our Melton Campus which incorporates the Theatre, and we are working hard to secure a positive outcome for the communities we serve. Our current understanding is that the levelling up funds remain allocated for the much-needed improvements to the Theatre, we just need to find a solution that enables all parties to satisfy the various accountabilities that we each operate under. We have not yet received this much-needed funding.
We are extremely fortunate to have a Theatre as part of the College Estate, which in part serves as a great asset for our fantastic Performing Arts Provision, we have recently relaunched our performing arts proposition under the IGNITE brand, which is going well, and we hope to see our numbers increase, our applications are already up this year. We are keen to continue to support our performing arts offer as we consider it a great way to develop stars for the future and the wider skills gained that many employers want and need. It opens other doors through the transferable skills our students develop, these skills include public speaking, confidence in presenting themselves (essential for interviews), resilience, adaptability, problem-solving and being able to articulate messaging well, all great employability skills.
However, owning a Theatre brings some challenges, no Theatre makes a profit. They are highly dependent upon securing external funds to support their existence and our theatre is no different. Unfortunately, despite the ‘support promised’ from the council, the college has never received any financial support from any external agency including from the Melton Borough Council or the Arts Council. The college has supported the cost of running the Theatre out of the funds it receives for education which has now become unsustainable, our duty is to ensure the best use of public monies to support our educational offer. We would welcome any ideas our local community has about how we can secure the best value for this site whilst safeguarding the much-loved theatre.
Our aim is and has always been to maintain the theatre as part of our portfolio for our students and the local community but this requires collaboration with all interested stakeholders we cannot continue to do this alone. We are in the public sector and under close scrutiny working within rules and regulations set out by the Government.
There has been some confusion, due to the recent article in the local press, around the financial support received by the theatre and we would like to take this opportunity to provide the facts and highlight that no external financial support has been provided to SMB College Group for its maintenance or required improvements on our Theatre, all of this expenditure has been covered by the SMB Group.
As always our learners are at the heart of all of our decisions and planning and we will keep students and parents (along with the wider community) informed as our discussions progress. As we stand now, it is business as usual for the theatre and the performing arts department, which are very much open. We ask that our local community continue to support both the college and theatre by attending shows and promoting opportunities to study with us and our fantastic performing arts team. Your support is welcomed and very much appreciated.
Melton Theatre is open and operating as usual, visit the website to find out more about upcoming performances - Melton Theatre