Steve Barclay visits Cromwell Community College, Chatteris cambstimes.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cambstimes.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
British stage schools have produced stars like Kate Winslet. So why are so many closing their doors?
The pandemic has exacerbated financial challenges, and the value of drama is being steadily eroded. Is school out forever?
21 April 2021 • 5:00am
Training is vital for the stars of tomorrow, but our leading vocational stage schools are under threat
Credit: zeljkosantrac/iStockphoto
A 12-year-old girl sporting a leotard, tights and bow-tie prances about a rehearsal studio, twirling a cane and belting out Putting on the Ritz in a squawky put-on American accent. “I want to do it all,” she later says, “singing, dancing and acting.”
“We have an expanded college site to be proud of and one which will serve our community well into the 21st century.
“By expanding our primary and pre-school provisions, we have become the first educational establishment in Cambridgeshire to provide education from 4 to 18 years old.
“Our talented team of teaching staff will be shaping the hearts and minds of the next generation of children and guiding them through their primary and secondary years.
“We just have a small part of the project to go before it’s fully complete and we now look ahead to a time when all our pupils can safely return to the school site so we can all celebrate together.