Recognising the vital and substantial contribution our alumni make
Raised near Coatbridge, Scotland, Katie suffered from a bad stammer as a child but found confidence through drama. After gaining her BA (Hons) degree in Drama, Performance and Technical Theatre in 2014 Katie achieved a lifelong ambition of opening a theatre school for children with additional support needs. Katie’s Shining Stars ASN Theatre School is now a thriving charity helping young people and adults find their own confidence.
An ambition to run her own theatre school
Katie was born in 1991 to parents, Joseph and Catherine. She grew up in Kirkwood, a suburb of Coatbridge, with her brothers, Joseph and Martin and sister, Shannon and attended St Andrew’s High School. Katie suffered with a bad stammer from an early age and was afraid to speak. She found confidence through drama, which increased after studying for a degree at the University of Cumbria where she graduated in 2014 with a BA (Hons) degree in Drama, Performance and Technical Theatre.
One of Katie's most memorable times at the university was devising and acting in her 3rd year original drama performance. The piece was written by a fellow class-mate, and was loosely based on his own personal struggle with mental health. Katie felt very honoured to be trusted to be a part of such a personal piece.
Katie’s ambition had always been to open a theatre school to enable young people with additional support needs fulfil their potential. She recognised the impact that dance and performance had on increasing her own levels of confidence and believed that through this she could help to transform the lives of others who are dealing a range of physical and psychological conditions and complex needs.
Fresh out of university, Katie opened Shining Stars AS Theatre School in her home town, on a very tight budget - in her spare time and with the help of a few volunteers, friends and family. Katie combines the performance and drama skills learnt at university together with her teaching skills, gained through her role as a Special Needs Teacher at Bothwell Park High School in Motherwell, to help transform the lives of the young people in her home community of Coatbridge.
Shining Stars uses British Sign Language and is an accredited Makaton friendly School. Starting with 5 children, Katie now has almost 100 children and adults attending a range of classes in the evenings, weekends and throughout the holidays with dedicated easter and summer schools. Katie was a finalist in the Young Scot Awards 2016 nominated in recognition of her work in setting up Shining Stars Theatre School. The following year the group performed at the awards ceremony at the SEC in Glasgow to an audience of 400 people.
This publicity helped to raise the profile of Shining Stars and the group has performed for their local MP’s and at Westminster in London for national government leaders. Katie was invited to speak with the First Minister of the Scottish Parliament about her work and, in the Summer of 2017, was invited by the Royal Household to the Palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh where she helped HRH the Duke of Edinburgh hand out awards to young people and spoke directly with HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex about Shining Stars.
Engaged with local and national government agencies and charities has been fundamental to Katie’s ambition of securing charitable status for Shining Stars. This will enable her to be eligible for additional funds to adapt their premises and maintain the ongoing work of the school. The school now offers workshops for children and adults with additional support needs in drama, musical theatre, dance, drama therapy, a Makaton choir, a film club and arts therapy sessions.
Katie has also established links with the Cumbria Down Syndrome Support Group, based here in Carlisle and has run sessions in the city. She is a strong advocate for collaborative working and providing the best possible resources and different experiences for young people.
Kate has made huge personal sacrifices for her ‘stars’ since graduating, even using her wedding funds to establish the school. Not only does she support her pupils, she trains and coaches her team of volunteers, many of who have additional support needs themselves. Katie is a highly motivated, selfless and inspirational individual who, knows from first-hand experience how tough it can be for young people growing up with some form of disadvantage. Katie has a strong work ethic and is keen to grow her business and support young people and adults looking to be the best they can be.
Watch Katie talk about her journey here.
Find out more about Shining Stars ASN Theatre School here.
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