Thanks to a huge fundraising campaign, Portland College is excited to announce the start of an innovative project to redevelop the Newstart Hall.
Our ambitious plans will see Newstart transform from the tired hall it is today into a fantastic facility for people with disabilities.
We’ve already raised a whopping £1.37million against a target of £1.65million – and we need your to help us to reach this final goal!
Originally built in the 1950’s, Newstart Hall has been the central hub of Portland College for many years. With a theatre, music and performance studio and a bar / lounge, many of our learners, past and present have fond memories of the facility.
With a focus on sports and performing arts, Newstart will become a hive of activities, events and education programmes for our learners, local groups and wider communities.
The contemporary development will include a multi-use sports and performance facility with a modern theatre environment and state-of-art LED glass flooring, enabling customised sport layouts at the click of the button – one of only three such floor systems in the country!
Our brand-new facility will have a huge impact on our community too, giving you access to the best facilities around and encouraging creativity and active lifestyles.
You can enjoy a range of productions in the brand-new theatre, relax and socialise in our coffee shop, join a sports, music or dance club, or enrol onto a range of education programmes. There really will be something for everyone to get involved in.
There are many ways for you as an individual, business or community group to help us reach our target of £1.65million raised. You can download a fundraising pack on our dedicated website with a huge amount of ideas and inspiration, visit www.portlandnewstart.orgto find out more.
Another way to help the appeal is to ‘Have a Seat’! Sponsoring a seat for just £250 in our brand new theatre could be the perfect opportunity for you. Each seat will have a dedicated plaque from the sponsor, so you can promote your business, add your own name, leave a lasting memory for a loved one or buy someone a unique gift.
Mark Dale, Principal and CEO of Portland College has pledged to be the first to sponsor a seat in the new theatre; “I am really happy to kickstart this fundraiser and be the first to sponsor a seat in our Newstart Hall. Our highly innovative design breathes new life into a 60 year old building and construction is well underway as I write this. “I can’t wait to be able to sit on “my seat” and watch theatre performances and see our own students and other local community groups using the state of the art sports facilities.”
To find out more about how you can help, contact our fundraising team on 01623 499106 or visit www.portlandnewstart.org.