College Production 2026 Funding - The Helen Foundation’s Ella Philp Fund

We are once again delighted to have been funded by ‘The Helen Foundation’s Ella Philp Fund’.  Having significantly supported our last successful opera ‘The Marriage of Figero’, we have been offered £600 towards the forthcoming College Show in the Autumn Term.  Funding of this type allows the Arts to thrive, and we are grateful for their support.  This will enable us to give our students an even better show experience, giving them the chance to grow in confidence as people and performers.

Here is some additional information about ‘The Helen Foundation’s Ella Philp Fund’ and their work supporting young artists in the community:  Helen Foundation Website

THE HELEN FOUNDATION - A TALE OF TWO INSPIRING YOUNG WOMEN

This is a special celebration year for The Helen Foundation (THF) to mark our 20th anniversary of supporting the Arts in Teignbridge schools and colleges.  Central to Helen Kirk’s life was acting in stage performances, and advocating for the power and importance of theatre in a fully-rounded school curriculum. To mark this 20th year milestone, we have specially focused THF's efforts on supporting productions in schools and colleges, like South Dartmoor. Over ten Teignbridge schools and colleges this year are already taking advantage of the scheme. This initiative builds on the inspiration of another young woman who loved, in her case, musical theatre.  Ella Philp was a student at Cardiff University in 2022 when she suddenly died following a short illness related to Covid.  Ella’s parents wished to support The Helen Foundation, and together we established The Ella Philp Fund to specifically help support school productions. South Dartmoor was the very first college to benefit from the initiative when, in 2024, it mounted an outstanding production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. We are delighted to be supporting SDCC again in this year’s November production.