Young & Animated+ Saturday

Young & Animated+ starts at Exeter Phoenix on Saturday 7 November, a six-week course in digital and stop motion animation for autistic young people aged 12 to 15. It runs on Saturdays from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, with the full course taking you through to 20 March 2027. Over the six weeks, everyone works towards completing their own personal project.

The course is designed specifically for autistic young people, with small class sizes of up to four and two tutors on hand. It's a fun, detailed look at digital and stop motion animation that bends to suit each person's interests, so you can follow your own lead rather than sticking to a rigid plan. It's run by animators and filmmakers who have experience tutoring young people of all abilities, and the small groups mean there's plenty of one-to-one support.

The tutors are Ashley Thorpe and Graham Hayter, both with long industry backgrounds. Thorpe is known for his short animated horrors, like Scarycrow, The Screaming Skull and The Hairy Hands, which have won numerous international awards; he also released the feature film Borley Rectory and has animated for BBC Manchester and Derren Brown's Trick of the Mind. Hayter has more than 16 years in 2D children's television animation, with credits including Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, Binka, Poppy Cat, Funky Valley and Funky Town. Between them, they bring a lot of professional experience to the room.

Thanks to a Devon County Council Innovation Grant, the centre can keep the class sizes small while charging the same fee as its larger Young & Animated Saturday Club. The full six-week course is £120, and there's a shorter four-week option for £80, both subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. It all takes place in the Digital Workshop at Exeter Phoenix.