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
musical theatre and
acting for
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
. The school also offers part-time and holiday courses in the performing arts.
ArtsEd is one of twenty-one specialist performing arts schools approved to offer government-funded
Dance and Drama Awards
The Dance and Drama Awards are a scholarship scheme which subsidises professional vocational training at some of the leading performing arts schools in the United Kingdom. Established in 1998, the awards are funded and regulated by the British ...
, a scheme established to subsidise the cost of professional dance and drama training for the most talented students at leading institutions. It is a member of the
Federation of Drama Schools
The Federation of Drama Schools functions to facilitate vocational drama training in the UK. It was formed in June 2017.
History
A formal organisation for drama training in the UK was first established with the Conference of Drama Schools (CDS) i ...
.
History
School
ArtsEd was founded in 1939. It was formed as a result of a merger between the Cone School of Dancing founded in 1919 by Grace Cone, and the Ripman School founded in 1922 by Olive Ripman. Both Cone and Ripman offered curricula combining a general academic education with training in the arts, in preparation for professional careers connected with the theatre. The two schools were amalgamated in 1939 to form the Cone-Ripman School, the predecessor of today's ArtsEd.
The school was first based at Stratford Place in London, but following the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, relocated to
Tring,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
, sharing premises with
Rothschild Bank at
Tring Park
Tring Park is a public open space in Tring, owned by Dacorum Borough Council and managed by the Woodland Trust. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Half of the is undulating grassland, grazed by cattle. Part of the pa ...
.
In 1941, the school reopened at Stratford Place, while the second school continued to operate in Tring. In 1947, both schools were renamed the Arts Educational Schools.
The London school was later based at Hyde Park Corner (144 Piccadilly), and later still at Golden Lane House in the Barbican. In 1986 the school purchased the former buildings of Chiswick Polytechnic.
In the 2000s the two schools became independent of each other, and the Tring school has been renamed
Tring Park School for the Performing Arts
Tring Park School for the Performing Arts is an independent co-educational school offering specialist courses in Dance, Commercial Music, Musical Theatre and Acting for 8–19 year olds. Originally known as the Arts Educational School, Tring Pa ...
.
Today, Arts Educational Schools London is a co–educational Independent Day School and Sixth Form for pupils aged 11–18, and a professional
conservatoire specialising in acting and musical theatre, as well as a range of part-time courses.
For many years, the president of the school was
prima ballerina assoluta Dame Alicia Markova;
Dame Beryl Grey became Director in the 1960s. Dame Alicia was succeeded in 2007 by
Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Iain Reid was dean of the schools from 1999 until his retirement in December 2006. He was succeeded by John Baraldi, former chief executive of Riverside Studios, and former director of the East 15 Acting School; Baraldi left the school in 2009, and was succeeded by Jane Harrison. In 2017, Chris Hocking assumed the role of principal; he resigned in 2021 and was succeeded by Dr. Julie Spencer as interim principal.
In 2013 ArtsEd was awarded a grant by the
Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation to fund a refurbishment project. The money was spent on the main theatre, costume storage, the School of Film and Television and the school's access facilities.
Chiswick School of Art
The
arts and crafts architect
Maurice Bingham Adams designed the Chiswick School of Art as part of the
Bedford Park Garden Suburb's community focus on the site on Bath Road in 1881. It was destroyed by a
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany ...
in 1944. The school was meant to provide the estate with a feeling of community. It taught classes such as "Freehand drawing in all its branches, practical Geometry and perspective, pottery and tile painting, design for decorative purposes – as in Wall-papers, Furniture, Metalwork, Stained Glass".
The school was depicted by
Thomas Erat Harrison in an 1882 book ''Bedford Park'', celebrating the then-fashionable garden suburb.
Academics
Day School and Sixth Form
The Day School and Sixth Form cater to students aged 11 to 18. Students are required to study mainstream subjects, in preparation for the
GCSE and
A-Levels, alongside their performing arts pursuits. Besides the A-Levels pathway, Sixth Form students have an option to complete a
BTEC Extended Diploma
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 ...
in a performing arts discipline.
In 2015 the school was rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted. In 2019 it ranked second in the borough for percentage of pupils passing five or more GCSEs at A*-C.
Tertiary
The school had been accredited by
Drama UK (organisation dissolved in 2016). It offers
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education recognised qualifications validated by the
City University London or
Trinity College, London
Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning ...
. A non-degree
foundation course is offered for students who do not meet the academic requirements for admission into the bachelor's degree programmes.
Former pupils
*
Kai Alexander (
''The Stranger'',
''Catastrophe'')
*
Julie Andrews ''(
The Sound of Music,
Mary Poppins It may refer to:
* ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character.
* Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers.
* ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...
)''
*
Simone Ashley (''
Sex Education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...
'', ''
Bridgerton'')
*
Samantha Barks ''(Les Misérables on
stage and
screen)''
*
Darcey Bussell ''(Former Principal with the
Royal Ballet,
Strictly Come Dancing judge)''
*
Gary Carr ''(
Death in Paradise,
Downton Abbey,
The Deuce,
The Good Fight
''The Good Fight'' is an American legal drama produced for CBS's streaming service CBS All Access (later Paramount+). It is the platform's first original scripted series. The series, created by Robert King, Michelle King, and Phil Alden Robinso ...
)''
*
Adam Cooper[ ''(Former Principal with the Royal Ballet and Matthew Bourne's New Adventures)''
* Martin Clunes][ ''( Doc Martin, Men Behaving Badly)''
* ]Omari Douglas
Omari Shaquille Douglas (born 24 March 1994) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Roscoe Babatunde in the Channel 4 drama ''It's a Sin'' (2021). He has received nominations for a British Academy Television Award and a Laurence Olivi ...
[ ( ''It's a Sin'')
* ]Laura Haddock
Laura Jane Haddock (born 21 August 1985) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Zoë Walker in '' White Lines'', Kacie Carter in '' Honest'', Lucrezia in '' Da Vinci's Demons'', Meredith Quill in ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' and its s ...
''( Da Vinci's Demons, Luther
Luther may refer to:
People
* Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation
* Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement
* Luther (gi ...
)''
* Nigel Harman
Nigel Derek Harman (born 11 August 1973) is an English actor, best known for his role as Dennis Rickman in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. He has worked mostly in theatre. He starred in the final series of '' Hotel Baby ...
[ ''( EastEnders, Shrek The Musical)''
* ]Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war dram ...
Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...
[ ''( The Wicked Lady, The Lady Vanishes)''
* Lashana Lynch][ ''(]Still Star-Crossed
''Still Star-Crossed'' is an American period drama television series developed by Heather Mitchell and based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Melinda Taub. The series is produced by Shonda Rhimes's Shondaland and ABC Studios, and aired on A ...
, No Time to Die)''
* Madeleine MantockDickensian
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
, War and Peace)''
* Mimi Slinger Mimi or MIMI may refer to:
People
* Mimi (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Constantin Mimi (1868–1935), Bessarabian politician and winemaker
* Mimi (footballer, born 1996), Bissau Guinean footballer
* Mohanad Ali (born ...
('' Emmerdale'')
* Hugo Speer[ ''(]The Full Monty
''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is ...
, The Musketeers)''
* Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp
* Michaela Strachan
Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan (born 7 April 1966) is an English television presenter and singer.
Early life
Born in Ewell, Surrey, Strachan grew up in Hinchley Wood and attended Chadsworth Stage School, then Claremont Fan Court School, both in ...
Oliver Tompsett
Oliver Tompsett (born 25 August 1981) is a British actor and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of Fiyero in the West End production of the musical ''Wicked'', and for playing the role of Galileo in the West End Smash hit ''We Will Roc ...
[ ''( Mamma Mia!, ]Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
)''
* Will Young
William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...
[ ''( Pop Idol Winner)''
* Yungblud][
]
See also
* List of schools in Hounslow
This is a list of schools in the London Borough of Hounslow, England.
State-funded schools Primary schools
*Alexandra Primary School
*Beavers Community Primary School
*Bedfont Primary School
*Belmont Primary School
*Berkeley Academy
*The Blue C ...
References
External links
*
Profile
on the Independent Schools Council
The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busi ...
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arts Educational
The Arts Educational Schools
1939 establishments in England
Arts organizations established in 1939
Buildings and structures in Chiswick
Chiswick
Dance schools in the United Kingdom
Drama schools in London
Educational institutions established in 1939
Independent co-educational schools in London
Independent schools in the London Borough of Hounslow
Member schools of the Independent Schools Association (UK)