The story of how the performing arts has transformed the life of a Prior’s Court young person has made the final shortlist in a charity sector award scheme.

Prior’s Court’s short film “Autism, the performing arts and Jamie” has been named as a finalist in the Charity Film Awards 2023, after a public vote.

Jamie, who is 19 and has complex autism, is in our Young Adult Provision, having joined Prior’s Court when he was 13-years-old.

In the film, Jamie’s family outline why they are supporting our  Let Me Shine Performing Arts Centre appeal, which is seeking £900,000 to support the build of the innovative and bespoke arts centre.

The Lawrence family is backing the appeal as in his time at Prior’s Court, Jamie, who left the family home at the age of 10 to go into care due to his aggressive behaviours associated with his complex needs, has been enabled to experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities through the arts.

This has included recording an “anthem for autism” called Let Me Shine, re-recording the song at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios, and performing on-stage at music festivals with the Prior’s Court Band.

In the film, seen at the top of this page or viewable on YouTube, the family talk about the challenges of having a child/ sibling with such complex needs and why the centre would be so important for Jamie and young people like him.

Our film and the other finalists across the categories will now be scored by a panel of expert judges – which includes high profile names from retail, education, private corporation, and sustainable enterprises – who will be selecting the winners from each category. The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony in London in March. 

There will also be a second public vote in mid-February to determine the winners of the Charity Film Award’s “People’s Choice” categories.

Prior’s Court’s ambition is to use the performing arts centre to research best practice around providing support to access the arts, and sharing these learnings with others in the education and performing arts sectors for the benefit of people with autism, and their families, across the country and beyond.

The film, produced by Newbury-based ECP Video, can also be seen below.