‘It’s absolutely delightful to be nominated for Pride of Reading’
READ COLLEGE has been nominated in three separate categories for the 2022 awards.
It is a nominee for Charity of the Year, sponsored by ROC Search; Cultural Contribution, sponsored by M&G Real Estate; and Entrepeneur of the Year, sponsored by Macbeth Insurance.
As the leading Performing Arts Foundation College, it was nominated for its work not only with its 60 fulltime students, but for its outreach programs, which have supported more than 3,500 students.
It offers Sixth Form courses in acting and musical theatre, providing A-level equivalent qualifications as well professional vocational training.
It’s outreach programs include practical skills workshops, careers advice, and Q&A sessions, all funded through its charity work, providing vital resources to young people for free.
Co-founder and artistic director Jamie Read says that it was “absolutely delightful” to be nominated.
“There is so much to what we do, as a college and as a charity in general, so we don’t neatly fit in any particular category in life, so it’s really lovely.”
Mr Read is stepping down from his position of artistic director at the college in September, shortly before the awards ceremony is due to take place, after working with the college for nearly 15 years.
“After all those years of doing what we do, being a part of Reading’s cultural, charitable, and educational landscape, it’s a really lovely thing to be recognised for. “It’s a really lovely thing for the organisation, and to be able to pass that along to the new artistic director, as well as some of the team who have been there from the very beginning.
“It’s an extraordinary bunch of people, some of whom have been with us for 15 years, who I’ll miss a great deal, but it’s so lovely to be able to pass that nomination on to them.”