Lights, Camera, Action: Breaking Barriers Behind the Scenes with LSA

This year, the Hymans Robertson Foundation was delighted to welcome the London Screen Academy as a new charity partner, with 3-year funding approved for a particular project around neurodiversity.  LSA is a free sixth form academy for students aged 16 to 19 years old, founded by some of the biggest names in the British film industry. It aims to plug the skills shortage gap in the industry with a focus on improving diversity – 55 per cent of LSA pupils are from ethnic minority groups and 23 per cent are eligible for pupil premium (pupil equity in Scotland) a measure of poverty.

In July, Marcella Boyle (CEO of the Foundation) visited the Academy at its London home in a converted factory.   

“Introduced by the team at Mayor’s Fund for London, we’ve worked with LSA over the last year, principally on the distribution of the Foundation’s Bursary which the Academy used to support young people with direct grants for travel, training equipment, subsistence and driving lessons. 

We have been impressed by the Academy from the start: its commitment to deliver a high standard of education to its Year 12 and 13 students, its inclusiveness (a high number of students are from black and ethnic minority, LBGT backgrounds) and their enthusiasm to work with the Foundation secure financial futures for young people (with MyBnk now actively working with the Academy to deliver financial education services within the Academy curriculum). 

As our partnership develops, we will work to identify volunteering opportunities. We are delighted that Lucy Steers and her team at Hymans Robertson is already building a relationship with LSA and exploring opportunities to engage their students directly on short/longer-term marketing and communications projects.”