Youngsters from a deprived area of Bradford can carry on with performing arts after their church got a £50,000 cash injection from Children In Need.

The cash for St Christopher’s Church, in Holme Wood, will pay for three performing arts tutors to carry on teaching 35 youngsters on Saturday mornings.

It means there are now more spaces available for youngsters aged eight to ten to get involved in productions, including Bugsy Malone next year.

Andy Sykes, the youth worker at St Christopher’s, said Children In Need had been supporting the church for ten years.

“Performing arts tuition can be expensive, but the cash means we can keep going for another three years now,” he said.

“There are challenges facing children, such as growing up in an area where there is a lot of poverty and looking towards the future and having aspirations for the future.

“We run a Saturday morning arts club called Wannabe for children and teenagers from Holme Wood and have a dance tutor, a music teacher and a drama tutor who help us.

“It builds youngsters’ confidence, self esteem and we try and do a big performance every year.

“If we hadn’t have got the funding we would have tried to do our own bits of fundraising, but would have lost paid tutors as we wouldn’t have been able to keep paying them.

“We would have kept something going, but it wouldn’t be what it is without the grant.

“Now we can make it available at a really good price which is affordable and gives young people an opportunity they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

“They can get together and grow in confidence with aspirations to go on to performing arts schools.”

For more information, visit stcyp.org