BMM Opens Their New Learning Hub

Trustees of The Patrick Foundation, Julian & Laura Pritchard, with the Learning Team. Photo courtesy of the BMM.

The British Motor Museum is delighted to announce the opening of ‘The Learning Hub’, a brand-new Lifelong Learning and Education Space which has been made possible with the generous support of The Patrick Foundation. The Learning Hub creates a welcoming and inspiring environment for students, learners, and teachers and includes two new classroom style rooms as well as a larger communal area for larger groups, a space for hands-on and collaborative work and a place for lunch.

Julian Pritchard, of The Patrick Foundation, said, "The trustees of the Patrick Foundation are thrilled to see the Learning Hub open and welcoming schools and pupils to the Museum. For nearly four decades The Patrick Foundation has been involved in providing an educational programme and location for local schools. However, as we begin to close our doors, we are proud to have provided funding for this new purposeful space, ensuring pupils are able to enjoy the best learning environment, experience, and facilities."

Stephen Laing, Head of Collections at the British Motor Museum, added, “We’re delighted that the Patrick Foundation has generously supported the creation of The Learning Hub, a dedicated space for school children and college students of all ages, as well as community and specialist groups from all walks of life. Our learning programmes aim to inspire everyone and are at the heart of all the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust’s activities.”

The new Learning Hub is already a hive of activity. Photo courtesy of the BMM.

In addition to the support for ‘The Learning Hub’, the recent partnership between The Patrick Foundation and the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust resulted in the donation of a vintage Singer Le Mans car earlier this year. The Museum is now delighted to announce the start of another project funded by The Patrick Foundation which will tell the story of two of the most influential characters in Britain’s motor industry, Herbert Austin and William Morris.

In conjunction with MG Motor UK, Lord Austin’s Office was carefully dismantled from inside the factory at Longbridge and transported to Gaydon. Thanks to this new funding, it will be reconstructed in a new exhibition alongside the office of William Morris which has been displayed in the Museum since 1994, having been relocated from Cowley. Together they offer an unrivalled opportunity for the public to connect with the stories of Austin and Morris and to understand the impact that both men had, and continue to have, on the motor industry in Britain and beyond. More information on the new exhibition including opening dates will be announced soon.

The Museum is extremely grateful for the significant support The Patrick Foundation has provided this year enabling these projects to happen.

For more information about the British Motor Museum please call 01926 895300 or visit the website at https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/