This Christmas we are inviting you to light up the Prior’s Court virtual Christmas tree and spread some Christmas cheer.

By creating a star on the Prior's Court virtual Christmas trees with a donation towards the Performing Arts Centre fundraising appeal, you will enable young people at Prior’s Court to shine.

The virtual Christmas Tree, with your lit-up star and message, will be displayed on the Prior’s Court website and on screens around the Prior’s Court site, to bring some festive cheer to young people, staff, friends, family, and visitors.

With your donation, you will be able to share a message which will not only be displayed virtually but will also be written out and hung on real trees around our 50-acre site.

Our current arts facility, the Princess Theatre, limits young people’s chances to can perform and express themselves and interact with the arts. The location of the stage is distracting for young people and the lack of ability to control lighting and poor acoustics can lead to sensory overload.

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However, there are exciting plans to change this - we are planning to build an innovative, state-of-the-art Performing Arts Centre, tailored to the needs of young people with complex autism. The plan is for there to be:

• specialised acoustics and darkened rooms with separate controls to provide appropriate lighting,
• a dedicated room for working with large musical instruments,
• a room for therapy work,
• a dance facility with a sprung floor and retracting hidden mirrors to suit individual needs and,
• an outdoor performance area with a canopy.

Fundraising Manager Natalie Norris said:

“Between pantomime visits, Christmas movies, carols, and Christmas songs, the arts play a huge part in the festive season and are hugely enjoyed by many young people at Prior’s Court.

"It is so fitting that this special way of giving at Christmas, by lighting up a virtual tree, is in aid of our Performing Arts Centre appeal."

“This new facility will enable young people with complex autism to not just shine at Christmas, but all year round!”

Read more about the exciting Let Me Shine Performing Arts Centre

Donate to the Christmas Appeal

Natalie added: “Thank you to our kind supporters who enable continuous improvement and innovation for young people with complex autism.”