Our Appeal: Our group The Friends of the Peter Brook Centre is raising funds to renovated the Peter Brook Centre (PBC) so that it can once again be used for the benefit of young people in the area. Help us retain this legacy for current and future generations by donating now! The officers of the Friends became the trustees for the centre on 23rd March and we are now able to begin the process.

About the Centre: In the early seventies a popular teacher working at Colne Valley High School named Peter Brook died whilst climbing in the Alps. Inspirational leadership at the time inspired the whole school. The PBC in Wales was purchased in 1974 through the fundraising efforts of pupils, staff and the people of the Colne Valley to commemorate Peter Brook. Within a year this lovely cottage was up and running taking groups of children to North Wales to learn about all number of things, and to grow an develop as rounded people. The Centre was extended and improved in 1983 by the addition of a classroom named after Ian Roberts, another member of staff who died climbing in the Dolomites. The PBC can accommodate 19 young people and additional staff and is located close to Snowdonia National Park.

There are pockets of significant social deprivation in the Colne Valley area (2015 Office of National Statistics Indices of Multiple Deprivation) with some postcodes being amongst the 10% most deprived in the whole of England and Wales based on government data. These are areas where people have limited disposable income to pay for the kind of residential trip run by commercial providers that many schools use. At a charity owned centre cost for accommodation can be as low as £5 per learner per day making this a much more affordable option. For over 30 years trips ran regularly allowing all pupils the opportunity to visit. There were subject-specific field trips and it was also used by Duke of Edinburgh award participants. The cooperation and goodwill of staff enabled thousands of Colne Valley pupils to experience a residential visit, and because the PBC was owned in Trust for the benefit of pupils of the school and young people of the Colne Valley, costs were minimal allowing everyone the opportunity to benefit, not just those from higher-income families. Sadly, many of the current pupils and their parents are not even aware that Colne Valley High School has access to this valuable and unique resource.

About Us: The Friends of the Peter Brook Centre is an organisation of enthusiastic volunteers with a range of skills, talents and experience who wish to assist the Charitable Trust that owns the Peter Brook Centre (PBC) in retaining, reinstating and maintaining and this asset: bringing the Centre back into full use, and to enhance and continue the facilities for the education and recreation of the people of the Colne Valley. The PBC is a field studies centre in North Wales held in trust for the school and young people of the broader Colne Valley.

For further information on the aims and activity of this group please see The Friends of the Peter Brook Centre on Facebook.