Background to ArtsEd
ArtsEd originated from two schools, one founded in 1919 by Grace Cone and one founded in 1922 by Olive Ripman. These two educational pioneers believed passionately in the value of combining a general academic education with specialised training in dance, drama, music and art. They were committed to preparing young people for professional careers in or related to the theatre. In 1939, Grace and Olive joined forces to create the Cone Ripman School, subsequently named the Arts Educational Schools. Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin drew almost exclusively on ArtsEd students to help them create their revolutionary company London Festival Ballet, which eventually became the English National Ballet. Ballerina Dame Beryl Grey became Director of the Schools in the 1960s.
ArtsEd continued to innovate, introducing both professional acting and musical theatre courses and in I986 moved to its present home in Chiswick. In 2007, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber became President, heralding an auspicious new era for ArtsEd. The Day School and Sixth Form remains the leading school of its kind in the UK with all students possessing outstanding creativity and dedication. Academic results and vocational success are significant and our Value Added return is in the top 1% nationally. The School of Musical Theatre and School of Acting offer full-time BA and MA courses. Our Musical Theatre course is recognised as the best in the UK, while the Acting course is praised for its innovative 50:50 split between stage and screen acting. Our outstanding record of graduate success sees nearly every one of our Musical Theatre graduates and over three-quarters of our Acting graduates make their professional debuts within six months of graduating.
In additional to vocational training and significant success in the creative arts, each year a number of ArtsEd students move on to Russell Group universities where they study a range of more traditional academic subjects, including English.