The year of Covid with its attendant restrictions has cast a long shadow over all of us, and for violin making students it has been a tough time; practical subjects are not easily taught at distance.
The RAB Trustees met in March to assess the annual awards, and we were minded to be generous wherever we could, to support and encourage the students. An additional bonus this year was that we could specifically allocate some of the tools from the bequests from Jim Read and Bernard Wawman. We made awards to 15 students from Newark, Merton and West Dean colleges. Details of the individual awards are listed on this page: https://rabtrust.org/rabtrust-awards/2021/
We were delighted to find that a number of students had risen to the challenge of working entirely from home during lockdown, and had kept up the same level of productivity as they would have done in college. They have been supported with grants of the tools and materials they need to carry on the good work, and when circumstances allow, we will be happy to place students with established workshops for a period of work experience.
Thanks are due as ever to Education Services for their support; their grant to us has enabled us to fund five of this year’s awards.