The Chief Minister has officially opened Phase One of the new Performing Arts Centre at King William’s College by unveiling a commemorative plaque at a packed event in December. The new facility was supported by the ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ campaign launched by the College’s Barrovian Foundation, a group of alumni dedicated to fund-raising for King William’s College. The Honourable Tony Brown, Chief Minister and MHK for Castletown, unveiled the plaque in front of dozens of friends and supporters of the College, who had braved the inclement December weather to attend. The Chief Minister spoke of his happy memories of visiting the College as a child and about the local community’s pride in the school. Guests were also welcomed by Nigel Wood, the Chairman of the Governors, who spoke of his pleasure at seeing the project come to fruition, and by the Principal, Martin Humphreys. Mr Humphreys commented: “Performing arts play an extremely important role in young people’s education, due to the level of self-confidence that they build. This new centre should help to encourage students to participate and allow those with a particular talent in this field to really develop their skills. By providing the facilities with which to excel, we hope to underline the College’s credentials as a centre of excellence in this area.” The Principal continued: “We would like to thank everyone who attended the opening and of course the many people who made contributions towards covering the costs of this important project. It is wonderful to see so many people investing in the future of education on the Isle of Man.” Guests, many of whom had made donations towards the new centre, were then addressed by the Guest of Honour, David Pritchard. Mr Pritchard is Head of Production at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, and spoke of his career to date and the journey towards his current prestigious position. As a former boarder at the College, he noted the key role that the school played in encouraging his love of theatre and giving him the tools to pursue his chosen path. The new Performing Arts Centre has reached the end of the first phase of its development, and is already in use by the College’s Music School. It offers greatly improved facilities, including two large classroom spaces, a number of individual practice rooms, offices and storage for instruments. Adjacent is a self-contained residential unit for senior boarders, which could be let out of term-time to small groups, particularly suited to those with an arts focus. Future phases of the Centre’s development include plans for a theatre space with green rooms, art, ceramics and photography classrooms, display areas and administration offices. The new centre is the result of funds raised by the Barrovian Foundation’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ campaign, an on-going project launched in 2008 to encourage philanthropy towards the school. As part of the campaign, major donors have their names inscribed on a ‘Brick in The Wall’, a magnificent edifice constructed by Clwyd Parry of the Design and Technology Department. This piece of art was inspired by the iconic Pink Floyd album of the same name. The ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ campaign is continuing, with donations now being collected for Phase Two of the Performing Arts Centre’s development. For more information about the Barrovian Foundation, to become a supporter or to find out how to get involved, visit www.kwc.im/barrovian_foundation.asp or email Foundation@kwc.sch.im . - ends -