“Children deserve the best of everything: the best opportunities, the best education, the best food, the best stories and poems, the best music, the best theatre. In fact, they’d need the best, even if they didn’t deserve it.”

Philip Pullman CBE

“We don’t need to bring the arts to children – they find all these activities, to draw, to write, to act, to sing, to dance, come naturally to them. But these activities need to be encouraged, acknowledged and valued because they all too easily get pushed to one side and lost. And when we encourage them, we are not only helping young people to fulfil themselves, we are creating tomorrow.”

Sir Quentin Blake CBE

“When I feel the world has gone stark raving bonkers, it is always a piece of music, a painting, a book or a play, which restores my faith in human nature. To bring the arts to children is the greatest gift we can give them, and the greatest benefit to us all.”

Jamila Gavin