THE PRIMARY YEARS
STAGE 1 & STAGE 2
Choosing a progressive and professional establishment to start your child's performing arts journey is an important decision to make. We are the area's only Ofsted registered theatre school. We are on all three of Ofsted's registers, which ensures our provision is not only heaps of fun, but also has clear educational aims and goals. We strongly recommend you come along and see the facilities, meet our team and book a free trial for your little one. This really is the best way to get a feel for what our school offers.
Stage 1
(Ages 4-7)
What ACTAcademy UK aims to teach at this stage, is an absolute love for the creative freedom and expression that drama, dance, musicality and singing bring. We are igniting a passion for life and the spark is certainly there in our unique approach to training Stage 1 pupils.
WHAT WILL MY CHILD BE DOING?
We offer our Stage 1 children the foundations of being an excellent all-round performer in weekly 2-hour, Triple Threat Training Workshops (TTT), which not only offer the very best grounding in stage technique but are also super fun! Our Stage 1 pupils have an hour of speech and drama and 45 minutes of the musical theatre side of performing including singing and dance specific teaching time. They cover jazz, ballet and street dance technique as well as exploring world music and both pop and musical theatre through the ages as singing repertoire. Each lesson finishes with a cool down and a particular skill focus, such as improvisation, character development or mime.
SKILLS FOR LIFE
Stage 1 is a fabulous way to give your child the necessary confidence, social skills, pride in achieving and self-expression needed for the stage, and also for those first crucial years of primary school. Our children's imaginations are set free, as they intrinsically learn and practice skills in story-telling, role-play, speech clarity, creative thinking, poise, coordination, rhythm and communication. The development in our pupils happens at each weekly workshop like magic, because it's so much fun!
STAGE 1 AWARDS AND EXAMS
Stage 1 Performers work towards certificates and complete their BTTA 'SHINE' Award through activities in the classes and performances.
Once aged 6 and 7, you may wish to opt for your child to start working on their LAMDA speech and drama or musical theatre grades, which is a more formalised teaching experience, with external syllabus requirements; this is an optional opportunity and is taught in additional classes.
Stage 2
(Ages 8-11)
At Stage 2, weekly workshops consist of 2 hours tuition, covering the three main areas of performing arts:
Acting for Stage and Screen (Including Comedy and Drama, Film and Television, Theatre, Contemporary and Classical, Comedy and Tragedy.)
Dance and Movement (Including Streetdance, Physical Theatre, Mime, Classical Technique)
Singing and Vocal Coaching (Including Pop, Musical Theatre, Speech and Vocal Techniques for Performance.)
THE CHANCE TO SHINE
ACTAcademy UK Stage 2 workshops allow each young performer the chance to shine in class activities, both solo and in small groups. Ability is irrelevant, we believe all young people should be given the opportunity to take centre stage and show their personal improvement through dedication and hard work to a supportive audience. Performing in classes is one of the most enjoyable aspects of being an ACTAcademy UK student and promotes self-confidence, teamwork, organisation and a love for the arts. That's why we do plenty of it in our workshops each week and you can read more on public performances below.
SKILLS FOR SUCCESS
Building on the skills for life at Stage 1, Stage 2 workshops are an excellent way to learn; active, fun, interesting and challenging. Self-control, cooperation, leadership skills, focus, concentration and appropriate polite behaviour is intrinsically learnt and the skills are not only an exceptional training for the stage but also transfer to all areas of a student's life.
STAGE 2 AWARDS AND EXAMS
Stage 2 students have the opportunity to enter for LAMDA examinations in speech and drama, acting and musical theatre and work towards their BTTA 'SPOTLIGHT' Award in workshops.
Other opportunities arise throughout the year to celebrate talent, effort and achievement, such as competitive festivals, celebration concerts, and our speech day with an annual awards ceremony.
PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
At Stage 1 and Stage 2, every pupil, even our youngest budding performers, are involved in performances at ACTAcademy. We produce an annual large-scale show in an outside theatre as well as other in-house performances and chances to show you what they have been working hard on, usually grinning from ear to ear - so get your tissues ready! Sometimes performing in front of an audience can be a bit daunting but our pupils are supported and encouraged gently to build their confidence and ability to feel self-assured and secure in the spotlight. In the last academic year, we have performed a musical theatre variety showcase in a large working theatre, commissioned a new musical for our upper school performers, written and performed in a large film premiere at the Odeon Cinema, starring every single student from Stage 1 to senior pupils, won many trophies (on show in reception) at competitions and festivals and Stage 1 and 2 also performed in-house for parents twice this year! We're always busy creating new opportunities for our pupils to perform, and we always like to be unique, diverse and different in what we offer.
SUPPORTING THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM
Stage 1 and 2 TTT workshops are linked to the EYFS and the National Curriculum where appropriate and if you would like to know more about the quality of our provision, please see the page: 'The ACTAcademy Story' We often hear of children excelling at school once they start their ACTAcademy workshops because they grow in confidence and communication skills so quickly.
COME AND VISIT US!
Everywhere offers something different, and we would recommend you look around a few performing arts options, to really see what is available in your area for your child. We are open every day and always invite you to have a look around our wonderful premises, have a chat with our Principal or tutors and feel the special family atmosphere our school oozes with!
FREE TRIAL
We always offer you a free, no-obligation trial class, so that you and your child can come along and experience what we do and exactly how we inject our ACTAcademy core values of ENERGY, PASSION and VISION into our specialist performing arts school.
WAITING LIST PLACES
As places are limited, if we don't have a place available, you can be placed on our waiting list for your preferred class time.
NOT QUITE READY FOR THE FULL STAGE SCHOOL TRAINING?
BUILD UP TO STAGE 1 BY ATTENDING A LITTLE STARS PERFORMING ARTS CLASS
Get a taste of Stage 1 in a Little Stars Performing Arts Class at ACTAcademy. There is singing, dancing, drama and creative crafts over a 6 week block for 3-5's. This is the perfect introduction to ACTAcademy and really prepares your child for stage school life!
Book Little Stars here, and don't delay, we always fill up fast!