Young & Talented Cornwall awards over £16,000 to stars in the making

A cello player, dinghy sailor, pentathlon athlete and sabre fencer have been recognised among Cornwall’s young talent having been awarded a share of the latest round of Young & Talented Cornwall grant funding.

The bright hopes for the future are the second cohort of the year to benefit from the fund which gives a helping hand to youngsters who may otherwise lack the means to reach their star potential.

Together they have been awarded £16,719.00 to help with tuition fees, equipment, and travel to training and competitions.

The grant scheme is headed up by Lord Lieutenant Colonel Edward Bolitho OBE who presented some of the budding young stars with an award certificate at Rodda’s Creamery in Scorrier, one of the fund’s generous business sponsors.

Colonel Bolitho said: “It is such a pleasure to bring recipients of the Young & Talented Cornwall fund together to celebrate their incredible achievements and wish them well for the future. Their passion, dedication and ambition never fail to astound me – they are a credit to Cornwall.

“Cornwall has such a wealth of talent but sadly this isn’t always equalled by resource. We must do everything we can to make sure the next generation can take every opportunity available to them. We have seen tremendous success stories from previous Young & Talented Cornwall fund recipients and I’m sure there are many more to come.”

At Rodda’s Creamery, recipients who to collect their awards were a cellist and Truro cathedral cloister, Oriana Mossman who has an ambition to be in the National Youth Orchestra and talented dinghy sailor Poppy Luxton. Also making up the talented group were Daisy Hassell who has been selected for the Pentathlon GB Talent Pathway, and sabre fencer Eiger Swinscow who hopes to join the British Fencing Athlete Development Programme.

Completing the autumn 2022 recipients are:

  • Alec West: Third-year trainee at The Royal Ballet School
  • Joshua Hughes: Royal Birmingham Conservatoire graduate currently studying for a Master’s degree in Berlin
  • Imogen Dowse: Head Chorister at Truro Cathedral with aspirations to be a professional cello player
  • Jodie Dow: Ballet dancer preparing to study at London Studio Centre
  • Luke Jones: Studying a BA Acting degree at the Rose Bruford College in Sidcup.
  • Imogen Timmins: Third year student at Guildhall School of Music returning to Cornwall to play the trumpet with the Three Spires Orchestra and Cornish Sinfonia
  • Matthew Ryall: Member of the England Under 18 pool team which won the European Championships

Two rounds of funding are awarded per year. For more information, visit youngandtalentedcornwall.org