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South London is home to one of the country’s top performing and creative arts schools Its mission is to prepare young people for careers in the UK’s lucrative creative industriesPupils can wear what they want - so long as it mirrors their future professionThe school puts on more than 200 shows and events each year One especially unique South London secondary school has dedicated itself to raising up the next generation of big-name actors, musicians, and artists of all kinds. In a new series of special reports, our partner First News – the UK’s only newspaper specifically for young people – spoke with some of Britain’s most unique schools. One of these was the BRIT School in Selhurst, Croydon. It’s one of the country’s last city technology colleges, a type of fees-free secondary school, with a special focus on the performing and creative arts. It only opened in the 1990s, but the BRIT School is perhaps unrivalled when it comes to turning out highly successful creators across all fields. Many of the former pupils it has turned out are now household names, including musicians, dancers, technicians, film-makers, performers, designers, games-makers, set-makers, DJs, actors, stuntmen, producers, and authors. Former students have sold over 280 million albums, have racked up 70 billion streams across major platforms, and won 43 high-profile awards like Grammys, BAFTAs, Oscars, Olivier Awards, and BRIT Awards, the school says. Here’s a little more about what it’s like to be a student there, and what makes it such a powerhouse for educating England’s next generation of creatives: What is school like for pupils at BRIT? The school offers a few different strands based on pupils’ interests, such as theatre, music, visual and digital arts. While learners will also study core subjects, every art strand differs, the school says, “and you will focus a significant amount of hours every week on your arts specialism”. The school day runs from 8.45am to 4.15pm, plus any shows or events in the evenings. The BRIT School has more than 200 shows or events each year – making them a significant part of student life. Pupils at BRIT can wear what they choose to, the school continued, “as long as it mirrors what they would wear in their profession”. “This allows pupils to be themselves and work comfortably in the practical sessions, such as dance, scenic painting, design or performing”. It has taken learners on educational overseas visits to destinations as far-flung as New York, Paris, Berlin, and China in the past. But it also arranges trips to support pupils learning more about vocations they’re interested in, to places like The Guardian, Sky Studios, the Design Museum, Tate, Sadler’s Wells, the English National Ballet, the British Museum, London Zoo, Rambert, the National Theatre, and the Houses of Parliament. Why choose a specialist arts school? The BRIT School says that its mission is to prepare young people for careers in the creative industries, which employ around 2.4 million people in the UK. In its pupils, it aims for them to be kind, inclusive, ambitious, responsible, and original. “If you want to have a career in the creative industries, you need to learn in a professional environment that mirrors the jobs you will enter,” school staff say. A Year 10 pupil told First News that they loved the course being vocational – and felt it was preparing them for the future. “Plus the opportunities you get at BRIT, high standards of work, the portfolios you can produce, and the pride you feel at the end of it.” This article is produced in partnership with First News, an award-winning newspaper for children read by 2.6 million each week. To find out more about getting First News at home or in your child’s school, or even to browse its other online offerings for young people, you can visit its website here.
