Emil Dale Academy is a musical theatre school in England. The

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

campus offers a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree awarded by the

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...

BTEC Level 3 The BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) Level 3 diploma is a Further Education qualification and vocational qualification taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The qualification is organised and awarded by Pearson within the ...

diploma, and foundation and sixth form courses for full-time students (16+). Weekend classes for part-time students (3–21) are held at both the Hitchin and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

campuses. ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'' called it one of the fastest-growing musical theatre schools in the country in 2016. The school is affiliated with Dale Hammond Associates.

History

The school's namesake Emil Dale, a graduate of London's

ArtsEd Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, is an independent performing arts school based in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. Overview ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in musi ...

from

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its es ...

, began hosting a musical theatre Sunday school with co-founder Victoria Hammond when he was 23 with the idea of inviting West End professionals to guest teach classes at a more affordable rate than other programmes of its kind. They started off with 22 students in the school hall of St Andrews' Church of England Primary School in

Benslow Benslow is a district of Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. It is located very close to Hitchin railway station, the railway station. Houses in the area range from those built in the late 19th century to a more modern housing estate at the top of ...

. The

branch, affiliated with

North Cambridge Academy North Cambridge Academy is a small secondary school with academy status, located in North Cambridge, England. Founded in 1959 the school has also been known as Manor Community College, and The Manor. Partner schools Associate primary schools ...

, began in 2014. The official campus was established at the site of a former factory on Wilbury Road in Hitchin converted into studios in 2014 and a 200-seat theatre, known as the Factory Playhouse Theatre, in 2015. ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' was the venue's inaugural performance. In 2018, the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Musical Theatre path was introduced in a partnership with the

References

{{Performing Arts Schools in the United Kingdom, musicaltheatre 2009 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 2009 Schools of the performing arts in the United Kingdom University of Bedfordshire