TCDT is thrilled to announce that on 17 March 2026, Buckingham Palace confirmed that His Majesty The King has graciously agreed to become Patron of the charity.
TCDT offers workshops designed to equip talented young people with the skills and confidence to pursue careers in fields where core hand skills – such as manual dexterity, draftsmanship, and the ability to understand and reconstruct three-dimensional structures – are essential.
Courses are free of charge for all successful applicants, with recruitment conducted directly through schools in areas of social and economic deprivation or geographic isolation. TCDT aims for 80% of participants to come from underserved backgrounds.
Skills are taught by craft specialists who are acknowledged leaders in their fields. These are not children’s art classes; rather, they provide opportunities to learn, experiment, build confidence, draw inspiration from top professionals, and explore potential career paths. Students leave with a clearer understanding of what is possible and how to achieve it.
Founder Penny Bendall comments, “The Royal Patronage is a tremendous honour made possible only through the dedication, hard work, and commitment of our tutors, partners, donors, and other supporters over the past ten years. Having His Majesty as our Royal Patron will provide vital publicity for our work and enable our achievements and contributions to society to be recognised and brought to wider attention.”
In a time of school budget cuts, an increased focus on STEM subjects, and excessive screen time, underserved students often miss out on opportunities to develop fine motor skills and spatial awareness. These abilities are vital not only in creative industries – a vast employment sector – but also in fields such as architecture and medicine. Roger Kneebone, Professor of Surgical Education at Imperial College, warns that today’s medical students “might have high academic grades but cannot cut or sew,” due to a lack of craft experience. While extracurricular programs and networks exist to support talent in areas like music and sport, there is no equivalent for crafts.
Last year alone, TCDT received nearly 1,000 applications, offering more than 500 workshop places and 23 work experience placements. Since inception, TCDT has engaged with over 675 schools and taught more than 110 different specialist skills.
