Projects that 

• raise awareness and understanding of different cultures and contemporary issues by helping students to perform or write in English.
• are inclusive of different learning abilities and modes. 
• promote and celebrate linguistic diversity in English. 
• connect students from different countries or regions through online events or interactions. 

…in the form of, for example:

• performance of poetry, plays, songs or stories;
• developing games that connect people and promote English usage;
• developing a creative / collaborative media form that brings people together (online).

We are looking for projects that have moved beyond the conceptual idea phase and have a clear plan and objectives with evidence of activities already taking place. A suitable project will: 

• Use engagement with English language learning to bring people together, forge new connections and build a community. (This can be virtual, face-to-face or a combination of both). 
• Be sustainable with potential for growth. The project must have started and have the potential to expand.
• Still be running. The award is not a prize for having done something well in the past. 
• Be primarily educational, not commercial, but, for example, charging participants a fee to cover costs is acceptable.

• It should not be a one-off event.
• Class projects or projects limited to the students within a single school are not suitable. 
• The award is not for commercial or entrepreneurial initiatives or profit-making organisations that are selling a product to customers. E.g., an English or teacher training course that has been created to generate profit for a company, school or individual. 

You can use the grant to pay for training related to your project. For example, our previous winners used some of the grant to pay for a training course in ‘Storytelling for Teachers’ to increase the skills they needed for their project. Or you might use it to buy equipment, produce some marketing material or cover the costs of attending a conference to raise awareness of your project. 

The grant is for up to £1,500 and we will ask you to outline how you have calculated your costs and how what you spend the money on will benefit your project. You may find that you don’t use the grant straight away and work with your mentor first to identify what you need. 

If you win the award, we will hold a meeting with you to discuss your project in detail and identify the expertise you would benefit from in a mentor as well as the resources that you could use the grant for. Once you are assigned a mentor, we will check in with you and the mentor regularly to hear how you are getting on. 

The SGA Committee members and sponsor organisations have a large network of qualified and experienced professionals to call on, so we will find an expert mentor based on your area of need. For example, some projects might benefit from academic expertise e.g., using drama in language classes. Others may need a mentor with practical experience who can help you grow your project or reach more people.

You will receive a total of six hours of mentoring, and we anticipate that this will take place online e.g., on Zoom or Microsoft Teams. We suggest that you meet the mentor once a month, but the exact timings will be agreed with the mentor. 

The video is a requirement of the application, but please be reassured, we’re not expecting Spielberg! A simple video recorded on your phone is sufficient, we just want to hear you describe the project in your own words.

However, we want to ensure no one is put at a disadvantage during our application process because of a disability, condition, or impairment. So, if this request is a barrier for you, please email us and we can discuss reasonable adjustments. 

• Designing materials in an area which lacks resources
• Creative writing with output that could be used in classes
• Online drama or extensive reading group