As in 2025 TASO was able to offer some financial help to another Primary School, English Martyrs Catholic Academy in Oakham, to enable their Year 5 children to compete in the Arts Bytes Competition in 2026. The whole class made lino prints of leaves in blues, greens and browns. Messy work but clever results! 

In 2025 The Arts Society Oakham were pleased to support, with a small grant, St Nicholas Primary School Cottesmore in the national Art Bytes competition for Year 5 school pupils.

The children, under the care of their inspiring art teacher Jane Morton, produced a range of 2D artwork and submitted their entries for judging by regional and national panels.  We were further delighted to learn that one young boy in this class won prizes at the East Midlands level, and these were presented in June 2025 at the Usher Gallery in Lincoln. 

In Spring 2024 TASO was able to donate a further £250 to HM Prison Stocken for art materials. 

During the winter of 2022 /23 TASO supported HM prison Stocken's their first ever Art Exhibition of the men's work, undertaken with guided supervision in their Art Academy. In March 2023 three TASO members attended the preview evening and presented the cheque then. In return TASO was gifted a beautiful, framed portrait  of a young woman, (identity unknown), skillfully drawn in a soft pencil by one of the inmates.

Our first donation to HM Stocken Prison was  £500 to buy art materials, supporting the HOPE project over the winter 2021/22. This was an opportunity for the men to express themselves through the medium of paint, brush and canvas, and results revealed much talent.

Click here to read a press release about the project.