We are dedicated to people who want to enter and survive the tough world of arts and entertainment, whether as performers or those who make performance possible.
We offer undergraduate degrees and diploma programmes to UK and International students. We also offer weekend performing arts classes for 4 - 19 year olds and a wide range of part-time courses for adults.
We also have an ongoing relationship with local and national business through our Knowledge Transfer initiative, which sees our practitioners using their creative skills to help businesses develop.
We are open to the public through our two seasons of public performances, featuring drama, dance and music.
Our public performances are created by our staff, performing students and our students who make performance possible. These performances take place in our two theatres, the Paul McCartney Auditorium and the Sennheiser Studio Theatre.
Our students come with motivation and commitment and leave with high levels of skill, experience and support for their personal or career goals.
Now in our second decade, our aims for our broad range of students are being achieved by:
- Placing an equal emphasis on performers and those who make performance possible.
- Using a purpose-designed £18m building.
- Recruiting teachers qualified with not only traditional qualifications, but also experience as professional practitioners in the entertainment economy.
- Opening our doors and valuing people from all communities and cultures.
- Ensuring the continued relevance of programmes by drawing on the experience of professionals.
- Continually renewing and updating learning resources.
We are glad to be in receipt of exceptional funding from the taxpayer that recognises:
- Our regional profile.
- Our distinctive contribution to the arts and entertainment industry.
- Our delivery of additional public value.
- Our strong retention and employment rates (where some students have relatively low prior qualifications).
- The additional costs our provision necessarily incurs.