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Arts Education came about when two Schools of Acting, one founded by Grace Cone in 1919, and the other by Olive Ripman in 1922, came together and joined forces, creating the Cone Ripman School (1939), which then became Arts Educational School.
Cone and Ripman were two women who pioneers that believed in the value of combining a general academic education with specialised training in dance and drama and music and art, in order to prepare young men and women for their careers in theatre and film.
The school was first based at Straford Place, London, but with the outbreak of war the school was relocated to Tring, Hertfordshire, There it was forced to share the mansion in Tring Park with Rothschild Bank.
The institute relocated back to London in 1941, however a school continued to operate in Tring, both being renamed Arts Educational Schools London/Tring Park.
Dame Beryl Grey became principle of the Schools in the 60s and encouraged Arts Ed to innovate and and evolve. It was during this time that the Musical Theatre and Professional Acting courses were introduced, preempting many of their competitors in doing so. Since it was reopened the London campus has been based in many different parts of London, and in 1986 it purchased the building of the West London Institute of Higher Education. This building is the building the school is home in today.
In the 2000s the two schools went their separate ways, Tring Park campus being renamed as the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

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So for the applications to Arts Education and Guildhall, they required only 250 words for a personal statement, which meant I had to drastically alter and reduce what I had written for UCAS and the others. Because I had skillfully skipped around the part of the personal statement that usually involves talking about personal experience in the subject you are applying for, I found it difficult to do that with only 250 words.

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So I realised that, with only 250 words, that there was little way to get around the 'past experience' aspect of the personal statement. So I wrote about joining the course and the opportunities that I have had by doing the course - such as workshops in acting techniques and other skills that I have developed and learned.

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Ideas and brain-storming for my personal statement

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I have sent off my application to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and now all that is required is the references from the college and the process will be completed.

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Three leading drama school principals offer advice on assessing the curriculum, teaching staff and career opportunities when choosing where to train.
Jane Harrison
Principal, Arts Educational Schools, London
Start by doing extensive online research into a broad range of drama schools to find the ones that best suit you and your needs. Different schools have different emphases in their training, so it is important for you to establish what you are really hoping to learn. What kind of career do you want? Will this course give you the training required to reach that career goal? Look at the work of recent graduates to get a feel for where students from different schools find work.

Ask questions about tutor contact time, length of days and specialist facilities such as theatres, film and television studios. Find out about each school's industry connections. Links with working directors, casting agents and performers can indicate how the industry views the school. These professional contributors will significantly enhance your training. You should feel confident that you will be getting a conservatoire training in which you will be given the rigour and intensive training required for the business.

If possible, speak to students at the school and ask them what their days are like, how big the classes are and what sort of one-to-one tuition they get for subjects such as voice or singing.

Try to see final-year student productions at the schools you are interested in and review the work they are doing. Is it mostly classical or contemporary? What are you looking for? Stay around after performances to check out the atmosphere. Would you have wanted to be in that show?

I would suggest applying for at least six courses if you can afford it. Auditions are not cheap, but it is important to give yourself the best possible chance and to be able to compare the experience at each school. Most schools offer audition fee waivers for applicants facing hardship - make an enquiry with the school if you require financial support.

Finally, ask yourself at the audition if you feel that you can be creative with the staff at this school. Do you feel inspired, does it seem exciting? Rather than just hoping for the best, be honest with yourself: is this the right place for your training?

Auditionees can be so determined to impress, they can forget to stop and consider whether they actually want to be in this environment for three years (or, in the case of postgraduate students, one year).

The more prepared you are going in to the application and audition process, the more confident you will feel. This will have the knock-on effect of allowing you to step back and evaluate which is the right place for you to hone your skills and launch your professional career.

Mark Featherstone-Witty
Founding principal, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts
There are three essential criteria you need to consider: the curriculum, the staff and graduate destinations. Facilities are also important, but come fourth.

You need to visit. It may be costly, but there's no substitute for 'feeling the vibe'. Photographs and words in prospectuses are always carefully chosen.

Your first criterion is the curriculum - what you'll be doing. There's a major gulf between studying drama and actually acting. This is easy to spot, although there are shades of grey. At the extremes, it's the difference between an intellectual university course where commentary is the main activity (lots of UCAS points required) and training to be an actor (often no UCAS points required). I can only tell you about the second.

Voice and movement - effectively, what your body can deliver - will be present in some form and to a certain degree in every school. So will work on text, technique and interpretation and acting styles.

Because acting is such a wide-ranging activity, schools that have one acting course have to make choices. Will musical theatre be a major feature? Or recorded media? And what about creating new plays? If there is more than one acting course, the focus should be clearer. This is why you need to choose what will serve your needs and aspirations.

Actors are generally self-employed (about 80% are). What preparation for the world of work is there and who is providing this? 'Work' doesn't necessarily mean working for someone else - it could be working for yourself with a band of mates making your own tour or starting a small business. I'm biased, because I feel this is essential. You need to be proactive and develop your CV yourself, as well as going to casting calls.

The second criterion is staff. No school can be better than its teachers. So, who are they? What's their professional experience? Do they have teaching qualifications? What about occasional teachers (usually known as visiting professionals)? What's the breadth and range of these? Who is directing the shows?

The third factor is the destination of graduates: are they doing what you'd like to be doing? What about showcases? Where are they held and how many, generally, achieve representation (not essential, but desirable)? Our goal is to achieve sustained employment, so ask: what happens to graduates after a few years?

One last thought, which is linked to facilities: would you like a single-discipline school (that concentrates just on acting) or would you like to be taught alongside others learning allied disciplines? This is the kind of school that emphasises the collaborative ethos needed for a satisfying show process. For those that offer this, the facilities need to be at the top end.

Edward Kemp Artistic director, RADA

1. Be curious

If you see an actor you like in a play or a film, find out where they trained (if they did). Do this with a range of actors (especially younger ones) and see if there are any patterns.

2. Do some research

Almost all drama schools have a website, most produce some kind of prospectus, in print or online - your school or college may have a copy. Read a few so you can get a sense of what different drama schools say about themselves and their courses. Unless you have unlimited funds, you may have to choose which schools you apply to, so be as informed as you can. Don't just consider the ones you've heard about.

3. Try to find out a bit more

Speak to someone who knows about drama schools - an informed teacher, someone who works in the industry, maybe at a local theatre. If you have specific questions about a particular school or course, contact the school. Read The Stage, look at the Actors' and Performers' Yearbook - your local library may have both.

4. If you can, visit

This may be easier if you're near London, where many of the leading drama schools are based. There are also good drama schools in Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, Cardiff and Bristol. All will have productions open to the public: if you can, see one.

5. Take a class or a workshop

Many drama schools run a range of workshops from one day to several weeks. Some are expensive, but some will be free, specifically designed to give people a taste of what drama school is like. They may take place in a college or theatre near you. Getting a taste of drama school training is one of the best ways of preparing yourself for audition and finding out whether a particular school is for you.

6. Be clear about what you want

If you want a career as a professional actor, you will almost certainly want to undertake a two or three-year BA or foundation degree in acting at a drama school. A university course, even if it calls itself an acting course, won't offer the same intensity of practice-based training, though it could be a brilliant foundation for making your own work or building a company.

7. It's always worth giving it a go

Many people don't get in first time around, but every audition is a useful experience and should help build confidence and stamina, both of which you'll need for your career. Good luck!
Read more advice on drama schools

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Which drama school is the right one for you?

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Three leading drama school principals offer advice on assessing the curriculum, teaching staff and career opportunities when choosing where to train. Principal, Arts Educational Schools, London Start by doing extensive online research into a broad range of drama schools to find the ones that best suit you and your needs.

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So that when the question "So why ____ school of acting?" comes my way, some research on the various drama schools and what they have to offer is a good idea.

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This is the second attempt of my personal statement.
Feedback from on of my tutors (Miche!!) was optimistic and helpful. All that she suggested I do was improve the last line because it sounded as though I had run out of steam by that point in the statement.
She said she didn't want to change too much because the statement is personal to me and what I've been through and experienced. I didn't want to write a generic personal statement that went 'this is who i am and what i've done' I wanted my personal statement to stand out and make the application people remember it. So I decided my best approach was honesty.

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I have begun the applications for the following Drama Schools:
Arts Ed
American Academy
LAMDA
Guildhall
Italia Conti
Birmingham University
Once I have my personal statement sorted, I can add that to the applications and submit them - and then find some way to pay the Audition Fees ...

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Arts Education School of Acting
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
LAMDA
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Birmingham University - BA Honors in Acting
Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (?)

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First attempt at a personal statement: I hadn't included anything about my experiences and it is just some drab about how I love stories and that I want to bring fantastic stories to life via the screen or stage. And while its different from the usual 'I have done this and this and this' and 'I am a person who is good and nice and punctual and friendly', my statement needs to be more along those 'my name is .... and I want to be an actor yada yada' lines. So I shall rewrite it and hope that the second draft will be an improvement on the first.