As developments continue for the new climbing centre at the former Methodist hall, Wycliffe Hall in Burslem, Kilnworx Climbing Centre CIC is pleased to announce a joint project with Newcastle-under-Lyme College.

The ethos at Kilnworx, has, from day one, been about access, inclusion and bringing sports back into the community; a social enterprise with a desire to nurture young talent. So it was great for Kilnworx Director Lionel Bunting, to turn on his twitter stream recently to see a response from Richard Hunter, a climbing enthusiast, but also curriculum leader in graphics and graphic design at Newcastle-under-Lyme College.

One of Richard's graduates had been reading the Kilnworx tweets and saw one which he thought would be of interest to him. Following the social media discussion and face to face meetings an idea was born. 

It was agreed that Richard's current students will undertake a live enterprise project including filming at the Kilnworx site. The project might take the form of a promo video, documentary footage, interviews, photography or design work....the precise mandate has yet to be confirmed, but is very exciting project for all parties.

The students, from two different courses, are currently studying foundation degrees in either Digital Media Production or Graphics and Digital Design, numbering a maximum of 15.

Interestingly while Richard is himself a climber, none of his students are, yet! 

Lionel Bunting noted, "I'm really pleased to have the College work with us on a live project at the site. We're already working with a number of colleges and universities with a view to other projects and internships, but I'm hoping this one will provide footage for the opening, an ongoing regular online video blog and a visual update for visitors to our website who have a vested interest."

Richard Hunter is equally thrilled, "The climbing centre presents a great opportunity for my students to create some solid portfolio work. They'll feel the benefit of working with live clients and community involvement," noted Richard. "On a personal level, project aside, I'm very excited about the prospect of having a proper wall in the Stoke area...it'll certainly save me time travelling elsewhere to climb!"

The project will commence after Christmas and could last as long as three months and with all the startup planning and legal issues at the climbing centre having been resolved, the development is expected to commence on January 9th. Development updates will be made via a range of social media tools including Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo and via the Kilnworx website.