| Collection | Shirley Foundation Collection |
| Description | The Shirley Foundation gave a £15 million donation to buy and develop Prior's Court in 1998 in order to develop a residential school for children with autism. This was inspired by Dame Stephanie Shirley's experiences of caring for her own severely autistic son. The idea for developing a school for autistic children came about following Dame Stephanie's visit to the Higashi School in Boston. The school started in September 1999 with two students, and was officially opened on the 23rd May 2000. The school has supported research projects, some of which were funded by The Shirley Foundation.
The files contain finance records and reports, correspondence relating to the project, prospectuses and copies of advertising materials for Prior's Court, project plans and meeting minutes. The files are divided by year:
File 1 : 1998-1999
File 2 : 2000
File 3 : January to May 2001
File 4 : June to December 2001
File 5 : January to June 2002
File 6 : July to December 2002
File 7 : 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2009
File 8 : Copies of prospectus and advertising documents, plus a DVD prospectus covering the work of the school, the approach they take to education, and the background of the school. |