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BRIT School

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The BRIT School[2] is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, dance, applied theatre, production arts and the creative arts film and media production, interactive digital design, visual arts and design. Selective in its intake but free to attend, the school is notable for its celebrity alumni.[3][4][5][6]

The BRIT School
Address
Map
The Crescent

Croydon
,
CR0 2HN

England
Coordinates51°23′24″N 0°05′29″W / 51.3899°N 0.0914°W / 51.3899; -0.0914
Information
Other nameThe BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology
TypeCity Technology College
Established1991
Local authorityLondon Borough of Croydon
TrustThe BRIT Trust
Department for Education URN101849 Tables
OfstedReports
ChairmanJosh Berger
PrincipalStewart Worden[1]
Staff~170
Years taughtYear 10 - Year 13/14 (theatre)
GenderMixed
Age14 to 19
Enrollment1419
Websitewww.brit.croydon.sch.uk

Opened on 22 October 1991 under the CTC programme, the school is funded by the British Government with support from the British Record Industry Trust (BRIT) and other charity partners and donations and maintains an independent school status from the local education authority.

History

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The BRIT School in 2024

Mark Featherstone-Witty had been inspired by Alan Parker's 1980s film Fame to create a secondary school specialising in the performing arts. By the time he started trying to raise money through the School for Performing Arts Trust (SPA), he had refined a novel integrated curriculum. He approached Sir Richard Branson to be the project champion who agreed, on the condition that other record companies chipped in. As it happened, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) were concerned with home taping and realised they had no political influence to bring the necessary pressure to bear. The then Conservative government needed to give impetus to their flagging City Technology College scheme.

For over 30 years, the BRIT School has been the beneficiary of funding from the British record industry, with a substantial annual contribution from the proceeds of the Brit Awards, administered via the record industry's charity, the BRIT Trust.[7]

In 2012, the school expanded acquiring part of the former Selhurst High School building next door. Three new courses, Production Arts, Interactive Digital Design and Community Arts Practise (now Applied Theatre) were introduced to coincide with this. There are currently 1400 plus Students on roll. The school's former principal Sir Nick Williams was knighted in the New Years Honours List 2013 for services to education.

The school celebrated its 30th birthday in 2022 and was awarded a PRS Music heritage award for shaping UK Art and culture for 30 years.[8]

Educational focus

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Beatles Gig (Music)

The school was founded in 1991 under the auspices of the City Technology Colleges (CTC) initiative with sponsorship from the British Record Industry Trust (BRIT). Each year the BRIT Awards Music Ceremony raises money, some of which is used to help the continuing sponsorship of the school along with other music charities.[7]

The school recognises that most of its students intend to make a career in the arts, entertainment and communications industries, but the school expects all to follow full-time courses to completion. It has two professional theatres, the Obie Theatre, which can seat audiences of up to 324 and standing audiences up to 500; and the BRIT Theatre, which opened in January 2012 and seats audiences of up to 280. There are also various dance studios, musical theatre studios, and TV and radio studios.

YouTube Music funded a new Television Studio that opened in 2019 for Film & Media Production students.[9] This was in response to the student-run show "The BRIT Live" which airs on the BRIT School's YouTube channel, giving the students their own studio and control room to broadcast from.

Entry requirements

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Entry to any of the school's courses is initially by application. If applicants meet the initial entry criteria, they may then be invited to interview or workshop in their chosen focus (strand) (either film and media production (FMP), Applied Theatre, dance, interactive digital design, music, music technology, musical theatre, production arts, theatre, or visual arts & design), for sixth-form entry students, plus a meeting with relevant tutors. Entry to the music course also includes aural and music theory tests and an audition, with entry to the dance, theatre, visual art & design, and musical theatre courses also including audition rounds. The school is known for being selective in its admissions and though it has a large catchment area, students outside this area are only granted a place if they show unusual merit.

A 2011 BBC News article discussed whether students who are accepted by the school get an unfair advantage in creative arts industries over those who did not.[10]

Curriculum

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Dance Vision (Dance)
 
Steer The Stars (Musical Theatre)

The school teaches the following course:

Strand/Course Int. KS4 Post-16 Year 14 Notes
Creative Arts
Film & Media Production FMP ✓ ✓ formerly 'Media, Art & Design'[11] and 'Broadcast and Digital Communication' [12]
Interactive Digital Design IDD ✓ ✓ Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation, 3D Art, Typography
Visual Arts & Design VAD ✓ ✓ split into fashion, Styling and Textiles
Production Arts PA ✓ formerly 'Production Arts & Technology' and 'Technical Theatre Arts'
Performing Arts
Theatre ✓ ✓ ✓ year 14 students are required to be internal post-16 students to apply
Music ✓ ✓
Music Technology ✓
Musical Theatre MT ✓ ✓
Dance ✓ ✓
Applied Theatre AT ✓ formerly 'Community Arts Practice' (changed 2022)

Notable alumni

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Further information: Category:People educated at the BRIT School

References

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  1. ^ "Stuart Worden, The Principal of The BRIT School celebrates 30 years of dedicated teaching and leadership of the UK's leading free arts school". The BRIT School news. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  2. ^ "The BRIT School - GOV.UK". www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Alumni". The BRIT School. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  4. ^ "The BRIT School – UK Music". www.ukmusic.org. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  5. ^ Truelove, Sam (13 October 2016). "11 of the most famous people who studied at Croydon's BRIT School". croydonadvertiser. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  6. ^ "BRIT School which tutored Adele sells star-making skills to business". inews.co.uk. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  7. ^ a b The BRIT School Celebrates Twenty Years of Success, 22 September 2011 Archived 19 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine BPI. Retrieved 5 February 2012
  8. ^ Konemann, Liam (3 August 2022). "The BRIT School: Shaping UK arts and culture for 30 years". PRS for Music. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  9. ^ "'We're passionate about the work of The BRIT School': YouTube Music funds studios for students". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Do Brit School graduates have an unfair advantage?". Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  11. ^ "The Brit School for Performing Arts and Technology | Year 12 – Post16 Course Information" (PDF). 28 December 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2001. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  12. ^ "The BRIT School". Archived from the original on 28 October 2004.
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