Investing in the Region’s Future – Autumn 2025

20th January 2026

From land to sea, classrooms to countryside, the Reece Foundation is investing in the North East’s future through a new wave of grants approved at the end of 2025.

  • Grants approved at the end of 2025 are supporting education, STEM, environmental and community projects across the North East, from classrooms to countryside and coast.

  • Funding backs hands-on learning, innovation and sustainability, helping organisations inspire young people, protect the environment and build long-term regional resilience.

  • Organisations creating opportunities, advancing STEM or protecting the environment can apply now, with the next trustees’ meeting in February 2026 and applications due by Monday 16 February 2026.

Projects range from hands-on learning for young people and robotics clubs to ecological research and sustainable engineering initiatives. These grants aim to inspire skills, creativity, and lasting impact across schools, universities, charities, and local communities.

Anne Reece, Chair of the Reece Foundation, said:

“On land and sea, from classrooms to the countryside, these grants reflect our belief in the talent, creativity and commitment that exists across the North East. By investing in education, innovation and sustainability, we’re helping local organisations deliver essential services today while creating lasting impact for future generations. We’re excited to see how these projects grow and the difference they will make in the months and years ahead.”

The most recently funded organisations include:

  • Active Families North East – Step into STEM – delivering a creative, hands-on programme designed to inspire young people (KS1) through the power of science, technology, engineering, and maths – with a strong focus on innovation, sustainability, and teamwork.
  • Computing4Kids NE – Empowering Girls in STEM – working with schools to empower girls in STEM by engaging them with the Crumble Controller to develop an understanding of electrical systems
  • Creative Culture Trust CIO – LEGO Club – Expansion of the LEGO Club, to introduce dedicated engineering LEGO sessions to the club that will allow children aged 8–12 to engage with real-world STEM concepts, introducing architectural thinking, design, and creative problem-solving.
  • Gateshead Virtual School – Greenpower Goblin STEM – a programme based on the Greenpower Education Trust challenge, where students will build, develop, test and race a car powered by electricity only, supporting young people in care to access the best quality education.
  • Greenpower Education Trust – Greenpower Goblins Event 2026 – sponsorship of the June 2026 event at Gateshead Stadium, which will prioritise schools in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, aiming to make STEM experiences accessible for all groups of young people, and shaping a more equitable future driven by education.
  • Institute of Engineering and Technology – First Lego League – funding for 72 kits and registration for schools for the inspiring programme for young people aged 6 to 16 years, which sparks curiosity and confidence in young minds through hands-on STEM experiences.
  • National Literacy Trust – Dream Big for Engineers – funding to empower children to become confident, capable communicators through a programme that uses speaking and listening to explore STEM careers.
  • Natural History Society of Northumbria – Ouse Burn Ecologist – to fund a new post of Ouse Burn Ecologist for 3 years, and an additional year for the Urban Naturalist role as part of the Ouse Burn Way vision.
  • Newcastle Eagles Community Foundation – STEM: The Science of Basketball 2025/26 – continued funding for the project, which is expected to engage 3500 young people, with priority for schools in more deprived neighbourhoods.
  • Newcastle University – WIRe II PhD Studentship – Partnership funding to monitor water quality in the Ouse Burn, continuing David Werner’s work, to develop a model on the Ouse Burn catchment. It is hoped that the model will predict both a pollution event and its impact further downstream, with the potential for a real-time monitoring system that is publicly accessible.
  • Northumbria University – BRANCH-OUT (Building Resilience and Nurturing Community Habitats – Opening Up Transformation) – a community-driven research project exploring how spaces linked to food and mobility in urban Shieldfield and rural Tyne Valley can cultivate ecological care within communities, build community resilience and open pathways to transformation.
  • Ouseburn Farm – Seeds to Plates – supporting the programme, which aims to build a connected and environmentally conscious local economy in the Ouseburn by creating new initiatives for Placement Programme participants and young people’s activities to grow, share, and sell fresh seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs on the farm using sustainable, low-impact farming practices.
  • Royal Grammar School scholarships – Reece Engineering Bursary – a means-tested bursary for outstanding applicants to the sixth form who are studying STEM subjects and likely to go on to a career in engineering.
  • Sheffield University EcoBoats – Autonomous Electric Marine Innovation – a student-led initiative to design and build an electric boat. Marine innovation from an inland city with no direct access to the sea, the first and only British team entering the ASNE PEP 2026 competition in the US, and a unique opportunity to showcase British innovation in sustainable marine engineering.
  • Sheffield University Eco-Motorsport – Student engineering project – funding to design, manufacture, and race a cutting-edge solar-electric vehicle on the international stage, competing in demanding endurance challenges like the iLumen European Solar Challenge.
  • St Albans Catholic Primary School – FIRST LEGO – support to launch a FIRST LEGO League programme at the school in Walker, providing pupils with hands-on STEM experiences otherwise unavailable in their community.
  • St Michael’s Primary School – Rogue Robotics – funding to purchase Lego Education Spike Essential Classroom Pack for the after-school club in Elswick, Newcastle and its entry into the First Lego League competition
  • The Drive Primary School – Little Green Car – to purchase a Formula Goblin kit car to deliver an inspiring STEM program in science and design technology lessons in Gateshead.
  • Tomorrow Projects – The Lost & Found Office of Oddities – a STEM Innovation Tour where Little Inventors reimagines science and engineering outreach as a playful, accessible experience designed to spark curiosity, invention, and problem-solving delivered in partnership with South Tyneside Council.
  • The Woodfuel Centre – The Kiln Project – helping to replace the kiln in Blyth to make sure their service users can continue to learn about and participate in woodfuel production, which provides real, meaningful work experiences and training opportunities for vulnerable people.

Funding for the following projects has also been approved for the following projects, as the applicants have been successful in raising the total funds required:

  • MSSC Tyne Tees Branch – Marine Engineering project – funding approved for the redevelopment and modernisation of the engineering teaching facilities for Sea Cadets.
  • North East Autism Society – Growing Futures – an ambitious environmental initiative to turn New Warlands Farm in County Durham into an innovative training centre for autistic young people.

A pledge to financially support Newcastle Hospitals Charity has also been approved if it is successful in raising the required funds for the new The Sir Bobby Robson Institute for Cancer Trials and Research.

Apply for Funding

Our next trustees’ meeting will be in February 2026. We’re always keen to hear from organisations working to create opportunities, inspire STEM learning and protect the environment. To apply for funding simply click here and submit your application by Monday February 16th 2026. Applications received after this date will go to the next meeting.

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