The Dukes Cultural Partnership with Lancaster University won the Arts Partnership Award at a ceremony in Preston organised by Curious Minds, dedicated to improving the lives of children and young people in the North West by connecting them with the very best arts, culture and creative learning opportunities.

The Dukes and Lancaster University’s Cultural Partnership won the award  in recognition of their work to develop arts, education and learning in Lancaster and to invest in, enrich and sustain the city’s cultural life.

Working with young people and communities which are traditionally under-represented in Higher Education and in the participatory arts has been a core focus of The Dukes work with Lancaster University since 2014.

This has been focussed through the MAKE initiative, a rolling programme of projects designed to inspire and support communities often viewed as `hard to reach’ including the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller community, a Pupil Referral Unit, young carers and people with dementia.

Each year, specific projects have been delivered to develop long-term relationships with these communities and partnership schools and colleges.

The Dukes Outreach and Learning Manager, Vicky Fletcher said: “We are delighted that our Cultural Partnership, which has been doing lots of valuable work within the community, has been recognised with such a prestigious award.”

Professor Andrew Atherton, Lancaster University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor said: “Lancaster University is committed to supporting more people within our community to engage in education. Our Cultural Partnership with The Dukes provides a wide range of people with the opportunity to participate in education and learning in a new and creative way and we are very pleased to see that work recognised with this reward.”

The North West Cultural Education Awards ceremony was part of A Very Curious Affair, a wider event bringing together teachers, cultural organisations, artists and influencers from across the North West to celebrate their involvement in the Cultural Educational Challenge and recognise those working in the most creative and innovative ways.