BRIT School students Henry Brewer and Angel Adley of the band F4ÇADE rehearsed for Apple store gigs in February.
Since its founding in 1989, the trust -- which also receives funding from the BRIT Awards' sister event, The Classic BRITs, and the annual Music Industry Trusts Awards -- has distributed 26.5 million pounds to a slew of organizations, most notably The BRIT School, the United Kingdom's only free performing-arts and technology school, which counts Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, Leona Lewis and actor Tom Holland among its former pupils.
Although the school receives the majority of its funding from the British government, the almost 15 million pounds donated by the trust to date "adds all the bells and whistles," says Craig. He cites the school's state-of-the-art facilities and close links to the music business as being key to its success. "The mission statement of the trust is music, education and youth. The kids learn as much in the corridors as they do in the classroom.