Off the Level is a play created by Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre, working in partnership with Network Rail to highlight the dangers at level crossings. They have been visiting schools throughout the south of England since last spring and hope that the project will be featured nationwide.
The grant has enabled the theatre to take the play to four schools in Surrey free of charge and the High Sheriff joined them for the performance at the first of these schools, which was Broadwater School in Farncombe, on Tuesday November 20th.
Of the event she said “I was really pleased to be present at the performance of Off the Level at Broadwater School. I consider such a performance particularly important in view of the proximity of the railway line to the school. In the past I have been presiding coroner in such deaths and know the importance of such education and whole heartedly applaud this project.”
Head of the Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre, Adam Forde, explains, “We are so pleased that
Broadwater was the first of the schools to benefit from the High Sheriff of Surrey’s Youth Awards. It is very close to two level crossings and almost all the children who saw the play use the crossings on a regular basis.
We were particularly thrilled that Mrs Karin Sehmer was able to come and see the play and to gauge what the funding is going towards. It is vital support like these Youth Awards that enables this important project to go into schools.”
Earlier this year, Off the Level was nominated in the safety category of the annual Network Rail Partnership Awards alongside some multi-million pound engineering projects.
The project has been developed through months of meetings and research with the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, British Transport Police, local authority officers, teachers and young people.
Drawing attention to the dangers of misusing level crossings, the performances will address issues with rail safety through the mechanism of theatre and storytelling.
The High Sheriff Youth Awards scheme makes grants to a host of projects in Surrey aimed at reducing or preventing crime and promoting community safety. Youth groups or organisations working with young people have benefitted over the years from the grants totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The £2,000 awarded to the Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre is the maximum amount and reflects the ambition of the project to take its message of level crossing safety to as many young people as possible.