Ambition Arena winners announced, with young people awarded funding to create the events they want to see this summer

Last Friday (27 February), we welcomed young people to Barnsley Civic to present their final ideas for the events and activities they want to create this summer at our exciting ‘Ambition Arena’. 

Pitching to a panel of Barnsley-based judges for funding to make these ideas possible, the event was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate all the competition’s creative shortlisted entries. 

Funded by Barnsley Council’s Great Childhoods Ambition programme and delivered by Barnsley CVS, ‘Ambition Arena: Your Pitch, Your Summer’ is giving young people the chance to create the summer they want to see, delivering some of the community activities and events we invest in. 

After asking young people to share their big ideas with us last year, seven groups made it to Friday’s pitching event, proposing a variety of fun-filled activities and projects. This includes exploring new places on day trips, producing theatre shows, hosting e-gaming tournaments and much more. 

Bidding for up to £3,000 of funding to bring their ideas to life, it’s been great to see young people learning new skills and building stronger connections to their communities during the process. 

Since being shortlisted, they’ve been working with local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSE) to build out their ideas, learning about public speaking from our panel of judges and pitching their final ideas in front of friends and family at last week’s event. 

After lots of deliberation from our judges, we’re excited to announce that the following groups have been awarded £3,000 funding to deliver a series of exciting events this summer: 

• Chilypep, who want to roll out the red carpet and put on a theatre show about bullying, created by their young people. Throughout the summer, they will run a series of workshops to get ready for their big debut, planning the lighting, staging, costumes, script and music. 
• Dearne Young Producers, who want to use the funding to crown a borough-wide e-gaming champion. Building on the success of their ‘Game On...Dearne’ tournament, they want to make the event even bigger and better, bringing the competition back to Goldthorpe this summer and trialling it in new parts of the borough.  
• Equipt, who want to get the band together and turn their love of music into conducting a special musical performance, using the funding to help make their sonic dreams possible, including designing their own upcycled outfits. 
• Great Houghton, who are planning on running a family fun day in the village, complete with inflatables, games and crafts, with a focus on affordable fun for children and young people. 

Working with VCSE organisations, we’re excited to follow their journeys over the coming months as they turn their ideas into activities young people across the borough can get involved in. 

Councillor Ashley Peace, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services and one of our Ambition Arena judges, said:

With our Great Childhoods Ambition programme, we’re proud to be creating more opportunities for our children and young people to dream big and build brighter futures.

“It’s therefore been great to partner with Barnsley CVS on our ‘Ambition Arena’, placing our young people in the driving seat to create the summer they want to see. I was really impressed by all the groups, who pitched brilliantly last week, and it was great to hear all their exciting ideas for the sorts of activities we should be offering in our communities.

“Deciding the winners was no easy feat, so I would like to thank everyone involved for all the hard work they put into their pitches, and I can’t wait to see the winning projects come to life.

Lara Bundock, CEO of Barnsley CVS, said:

It’s been so exciting to hear all the young people’s plans and to see their creativity and enthusiasm. We’d like to express our thanks to the voluntary and community groups who have been giving their time to support the young people to think through their ideas, using their experience to help them make a reality.

The winning projects were decided by our panel of Barnsley-based judges: 

• Councillor Ashley Peace, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services. 
• David Sinclair, Centre Manager for The Glass Works and Alhambra Shopping Centre. 
• Joada Allen, Managing Director at Visualised It and member of the Barnsley 2030 Board. 
• Leonie Briggs, founder of Amazelab. 
• Rafaela Costa, Youth Board member with YMCA Barnsley. 

Every submission for our ‘Ambition Arena’ had to align with one of the five priorities of the Great Childhoods Ambition: belong, connect, dream, explore and grow. 

We will share more information about the winning projects, including how communities can get involved with our ‘Ambition Arena’ activities, this summer. 

Last year, Barnsley CVS received funding from the Great Childhoods Ambition programme to distribute to VCSE groups across Barnsley to offer provision for young people. 

Part of this funding was reserved to allocate specifically to projects that young people could apply for, leading to the creation of the ‘Ambition Arena’, with the rest being allocated directly to local groups through the Great Childhoods Ambition Community Fund. 

We’re excited to be bringing together local organisations and community partners, including Barnsley CVS, together next month for our fun, free family celebration marking one year of Barnsley’s Great Childhoods Ambition. 

Taking place on Saturday 28 March in The Glass Works Square, learn more about our Great Childhoods Ambition celebration event by visiting our dedicated webpage.