Walnuts School returns to Midsummer Place after Christmas boost

Following the success of the Walnuts School Christmas sales at Midsummer Place, the centre is excited to announce that the pop-up shop will return for Valentine’s, from 6 until 11 February.

Hosted by the Walnuts School Sixth Form programme ‘The Walnuts Enterprise’, the Christmas staff raised an incredible £3,500 over the seven weeks by selling handcrafted wooden plaques featuring, motivational, comical and inspirational phrases as well as personalised Christmas plaques.

All funds raised are now invested back into the business.

Rebecca Brown, Careers and Transition Lead at The Walnuts School said: “The pop-up shop has been truly amazing. I would like to thank Midsummer Place for giving our young people this amazing opportunity – it has not only given the young people a place to showcase their talents but also to build upon their employability skills for their future. Building employability skills is a key focus at The Walnuts School.

“When The Walnuts School partnered with Midsummer Place my aim was for the young people to gain valuable experience through their studies and practical work.

As we know in many industries, it is all about who you know. The more work experience opportunities we are able to provide, the more contacts our students will meet, opening us up to a wealth of opportunities for our young people in the future. This project has certainly proved that.”

Kirsty McGiff, Marketing Manager at Midsummer Place said: “It was a pleasure to work with and support the students of The Walnuts School. The products they created were truly unique and very popular with our customers and even our staff kept returning for more. We are looking forward to having them back for what we are sure will be another successful pop-up.”

The partnership with The Walnuts School came to fruition through the Hatch initiative that invited small businesses to pitch for retail space which is also set to return this February.

The Walnuts School is a school for children and young people with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or a Social Communication difficulty, from the age of 4 to 19. For more information, visit their website.