Sheffield’s popular Broomhall Homework Club on verge of closure saved by local community fundraising

The Broomhall Homework Club supports around 50 students, many from minority ethnic communities from the local area.

Students range from eight to 18 and volunteers help with reading and spelling, through to GCSE revision and A-level coursework.

The club suffered a major blow when its funding was cut but donations from the local community have saved it for at least another year.

Treasurer Margaret Phipps said: “For some years a grant was provided by the University of Sheffield, partly because many students were involved in volunteering at the club and also because the support of the club enabled some poorer schoolchildren to apply to university who would otherwise not have been able to.

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“But last year the University Vice Chancellor told us that the grant of £6,900 they provided would be the last and suggested we looked elsewhere for funding.”

The club is run by Emily Hearne and volunteers from the University Katie Pruszynski and Will Mason who set up the crowdfunder.

What will donations pay for?

Secretary Pete Slacker said thanks to donations, support from St Marks church and Ward Pot money from local councillors, the immediate funding crisis was over for a year.

He said: “Any additional funds we raise will enable us to renew some of the computers we use for the club which are now very old indeed as well as holding some funds for next year.

“We had to stop the second evening a week that was specifically for coding as the funding ran out but we can now plan to restart this again.

“The club is really most beneficial to children who continue with it for years. We would like to thank the many donors who responded to the appeal, it really has been heartening.”

The club works with young people from one of the most deprived parts of Sheffield. Many of the students are bi, or even trilingual, and the club helps improve their chances of accessing further education or employment.