AN £800,000 plan to propel Bradford to the national forefront of digital creativity in schools have been unveiled.

The initiative, backed by Arts Council England, will see 1,200 teenagers from schools where a high proportion of students do not currently engage with mainstream definitions of culture become digital creators.

The Bradford Digital Creatives schools project was launched in front of more than 300 pupils and teachers attending Salts Mill to mark the first anniversary of Age of Wonder - the biggest health study of adolescents in the world and the latest strand to the wider Born in Bradford (BiB) research programme.

The project not only aims to expand cultural education for children, but also to improve health and wellbeing through creative activity.

Over the next two years, it will grow one of the biggest clusters of home-grown young digital talent outside London.

Children will work with data scientists and international artists in pop-up studios from September 2023 to July 2025.

They will co-create and present digital stories about themselves, their pasts, and futures.

Work will be shared in their schools and in their local communities through digital projects using immersive technologies and large-scale projection through a new digital festival in 2025.

The project, led by BiB and Age of Wonder, is developed and delivered in partnership with Bradford Council, Bradford 2025, Bradford Culture Education Partnership, and the National Science and Media Museum.

Professor John Wright, Director of the Bradford Institute of Health Research at Bradford Royal Infirmary, said: “This is a unique opportunity for schools to become part of an innovative research partnership with the NHS - evidencing the impact of creativity on young lives to shape national policy and practice.

“As the UK’s youngest city, where children are learning to swipe before they write, this will create a platform for them to create technology - not just consume it."

Rhiannon Hannon, Head of Engagement, Bradford 2025, added: “We are committed to creating environments where young people can develop new skills and tell their own stories through multiple art forms.

"Digital Creatives is an Arts Council project of National Significance that will support young people to form active, critical and ethical relationships with digital media, redefining who tells these stories and who decides how they are told.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said: “We’re looking forward to unlocking the talent within the district and providing young people with the opportunity to learn from some of the industry’s leading professionals."