
What is Take It Away?
Take it away is an Arts Council England initiative that aims to make musical instruments more accessible to children and young people by providing interest-free loans of up to £5,000. The scheme is open to parents buying an instrument for a child under the age of 18, but also 18-25 year olds who can apply in their own right. From 13th April 2012 it has been extended to allow loans of up to £5000.
Howarth of London has joined this Arts Council’s Take it away Initiative making musical instruments and music lessons more easily affordable.
Retailers around the country passed rigorous checks in order to be involved, demonstrating high levels of customer care in helping customers choose the right instrument for their needs.
You can use Take it away to borrow between £100 and £5,000 towards the costs of your chosen instrument, and you can also include music stands, sheet music and other accessories within the loan.
You will need to pay a minimum 10% of the loan amount at the point of sale by debit or credit card (or cash/cheque with proof of identity). The rest is then paid back over 9 months (for goods of £100 – £2,000) or 18 months (for goods of £800 – £5,000) in equal instalments by direct debit. There is no administrative charge or handling fee when you take out the loan, so you will never be paying more for your purchase than the ticket price.
Applicants must be:
EITHER over 18 years of age and buying an instrument for a child under the age of 18.
OR aged 18-25 years and applying in their own right.
Please note in all cases in order to be eligible applicants also need to:
- be a UK resident and working at least 16 hours per week
- hold a bank or building society account capable of handling direct debit payments.
Approval will be subject to a credit check (we may request photo-ID to complete this step). Applicants need to apply in our London store, Take it away ‘Under 18s’ loans are not available via mail order.
Jeremy Walsworth, Howarth of London sales director says: “This is a great opportunity for players who didn’t think they could afford it to choose the instrument they really want and ‘Take it away’.”
Hilary Boulding, Director, Music Strategy, Arts Council says “Learning a musical instrument is good fun and can also have great social benefits. We want to encourage as many people as possible to take part in the arts and Take it away is another way to help us achieve that.
The support of our nationwide network of skilled retailers is key to the success of this project and with their help we hope many more people in the UK will now enjoy the benefits of musicianship.”
All instruments are included in the scheme and are encouraged by Arts Council England. To help musical development and manage costs, equipment and services such as music stands, sheet music and tuition can also be included within the loan.