INEOS TEAM UK has donated £10,000 in support of the Ark Charter Academy, Portsmouth, through the international INEOS Community Fund. This donation will be used to provide vital IT devices to disadvantaged young learners so that they can continue their studies from home for the period of the Coronavirus crisis.
The grant from the INEOS Community Fund will be used to provide students in the critical year 10 cohort with IT devices that enable them to access educational support ahead of their GCSEs, and to ensure students have access to resources which provide mental health and wellbeing support. In doing so, this grant will fill the critical gap created by the COVID-19 crisis, and ensure vulnerable students remain supported during this difficult time.
To mark the donation, the 1851 Trust, INEOS TEAM UK’s official charity, organised a virtual Teaching Day for Ark Charter Academy Portsmouth on 8th July, where they hosted a STEM lesson for the year 10 pupils. The digital lesson, which was joined by INEOS TEAM UK Skipper and Team Principal Ben Ainslie, focused on “forces” and implemented resources inspired by INEOS TEAM UK’s America’s Cup Challenge.
Emily Morey, Principal of Ark Charter Academy, said: “We are delighted to receive this grant from INEOS. This grant will enable the Academy to support its most vulnerable and deprived students, ensuring our curriculum is inclusive and equitable. From parent surveys, we know that access to the internet is not the biggest barrier, but that access to an appropriate device is. Without a device, those students, currently in Year 10, will be further disadvantaged in their learning towards GCSE examinations. For many, these exams will be a defining moment in their academic life; impacting on their opportunities and potential for adult life.”
The £1M International INEOS Community Fund was established by INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe in March 2020 in tandem with the company’s COVID-19 “Hands On” campaign, which set up new production lines to provide millions of bottles of free hand sanitiser per month to hospitals and frontline healthcare. The fund enables INEOS sites across the world to support the charitable organisations doing vital work in their local communities at this particularly difficult time.
Ben Cartledge, CEO of the 1851 Trust, said: “Disadvantaged families and children are facing countless challenges at this difficult time. Insufficient access to IT devices should not jeopardize a student’s access to education. We’re mobilising to ensure that the Ark Charter Academy has all the tools required to support those most impacted and at-risk. As an education charity, we are committed to do what we can to help ‘close the gap’ for pupils everywhere through our programmes. It has been a pleasure to be able to support Ark Charter Academy at this difficult time.”
