BRIT School
Encyclopedia
The London School for Performing Arts & Technology (most commonly known as The BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology) is a British
school located in Selhurst, Croydon
, in London
, England
, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible. Selective in its intake, the school is notable for its numerous alumni including Ace and Vis
, Adele
, Amy Winehouse
, Jamie Woon
, Jessie J
, Leona Lewis
, Katie Melua
, The Kooks
, Imogen Heap
, The Midnight Beast
, Katy B
, and Rizzle Kicks
.
Established in 1991 under the CTC programme, the school is funded by the British Government, with support from the British Record Industry Trust, and maintains an independent school
status from the local education authority
.
, Secretary of State Education approached Richard Branson
in 1988. Despite Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher describing the institution as a school "for out of work actors", the school was successfully established in 1991.
Plans emerged in 2011 for a new BRIT School in Manchester, a city with a rich musical heritage, and could be based at the new MediaCityUK development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal
., presumably to compete with the nearby Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
(LIPA).
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 a professional theatre, The Obie Theatre, which can seat audiences of up to 324 and standing audiences up to 500. There are also various dance studios, musical theatre studios and TV and radio studios.
The school was founded in 1991 under the auspices of the City Technology College
s (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.
The school is constituted as a registered charity
under English law.
, Broadcast and Digital Communication (BDC), music
, musical theatre
, drama
, dance
or visual arts, or technical theatre for sixth-form entry students), plus a meeting with relevant tutors. Entry to the Music course also includes some aural and music theory tests, with entry to the Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre courses including audition rounds.
next door to add to its set of buildings. Three new courses, Creative Design Technology, Interactive Media and Community Arts Practise are to be introduced to coincide with the opening of the new buildings.
Alan Carr
's Talk show
Alan Carr: Chatty Man
' spoke about the BRIT School on the 13th December 2010.
An episode of Celebrity Masterchef
was filmed at the BRIT School in spring 2011, which included the final 4 candidates serving lunch. A documentary was filmed and shown on the CBBC channel
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
school located in Selhurst, Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible. Selective in its intake, the school is notable for its numerous alumni including Ace and Vis
Ace and Vis
Ace and Vis, aka The Troublemakers of Radio, are BBC 1Xtra radio DJs and television presenters from south-east London. They met whilst studying at the BRIT School in London....
, Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, Jamie Woon
Jamie Woon
Jamie Woon is a British singer, songwriter and producer signed to Polydor who gained widespread acclaim in 2010 for his single Night Air which was co-produced by Burial, following his previous independent release, Wayfaring Stranger EP.The Eurasian son of a Malaysian Chinese father, and Scottish...
, Jessie J
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish , better known by her stage name Jessie J, is an English recording artist currently signed to Island Records. She began her career as a songwriter for artists including Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus. Her debut single, "Do It Like a Dude", was released in November 2010 and peaked...
, Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
, Katie Melua
Katie Melua
Ketevan "Katie" Melua is a British-Georgian singer, songwriter and musician. She moved to Northern Ireland at the age of eight and then to England at fourteen. Melua is signed to the small Dramatico record label, under the management of composer Mike Batt, and made her musical debut in 2003...
, The Kooks
The Kooks
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred , and Max Rafferty , the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty...
, Imogen Heap
Imogen Heap
Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
, The Midnight Beast
The Midnight Beast
The Midnight Beast, sometimes abbreviated as TMB, is a British comedy music group from London, perhaps most famous for their YouTube cover-parody of the 2009 single TiK ToK by American pop artist Ke$ha...
, Katy B
Katy B
Kathleen "Katie" Brien, better known as Katy B, is an English singer-songwriter and a graduate of the BRIT School. She is a dubstep, R&B, funky, house and UK garage singer and has also performed under the name Baby Katy. She was born in Peckham, South London...
, and Rizzle Kicks
Rizzle Kicks
Rizzle Kicks are a Brithop duo from Southend, Essex, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens , and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule...
.
Established in 1991 under the CTC programme, the school is funded by the British Government, with support from the British Record Industry Trust, and maintains an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
status from the local education authority
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
.
History
The BRIT school was established after Kenneth BakerKenneth Baker
Kenneth Wilfred Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking, CH, PC , is a British politician, a former Conservative MP and a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group.-Early life:...
, Secretary of State Education approached Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
in 1988. Despite Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher describing the institution as a school "for out of work actors", the school was successfully established in 1991.
Plans emerged in 2011 for a new BRIT School in Manchester, a city with a rich musical heritage, and could be based at the new MediaCityUK development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
., presumably to compete with the nearby Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts is, despite its young age, one of the United Kingdom's leading institutions for the performing arts. The university is situated in the English city of Liverpool...
(LIPA).
Mandate
The school was founded in 1991 under the auspices of the City Technology College
City Technology College
In England, a City Technology College is a state-funded all-ability secondary school that charges no fees but is independent of local authority control, being overseen directly by the Department for Education....
s (CTC) initiative with sponsorship from The British Record Industry Trust (BRIT). Each year the BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
Music Ceremony raises money, some of which is used to help the continuing sponsorship of the school along with other music charities.
The school is constituted as a registered charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
under English law.
Entry
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 in their chosen focus (either theatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, Broadcast and Digital Communication (BDC), music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
or visual arts, or technical theatre for sixth-form entry students), plus a meeting with relevant tutors. Entry to the Music course also includes some aural and music theory tests, with entry to the Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre courses including audition rounds.
Growth
The school is planning on a large amount of growth starting in 2012. The school bought Selhurst High SchoolSelhurst High School
Selhurst High School for Boys is a name that has been given to two separate schools in England that existed at different times, but occupied the same site. The former school had been a grammar school that closed in 1988, the latter was the relaunch of a former comprehensive school, Ingram, under a...
next door to add to its set of buildings. Three new courses, Creative Design Technology, Interactive Media and Community Arts Practise are to be introduced to coincide with the opening of the new buildings.
Television appearance
GMTV did a one week focus on The BRIT School, which was shown in the mornings for a week.Alan Carr
Alan Carr
Alan Carr is an English comedian and television personality. Born in Weymouth, he was raised in Northampton before moving to Manchester during his early 20's....
's Talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Alan Carr: Chatty Man is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Alan Carr. The award-winning show is on Channel 4. The show features interviews with celebrity guests, sketches, topical chat and music....
' spoke about the BRIT School on the 13th December 2010.
An episode of Celebrity Masterchef
Masterchef
MasterChef is a BBC television cooking game show. It initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was later revived in a different format known as MasterChef Goes Large from 2005 onwards. In 2008, the "Goes Large" part of the name was dropped, but the format remains identical...
was filmed at the BRIT School in spring 2011, which included the final 4 candidates serving lunch. A documentary was filmed and shown on the CBBC channel