Craig Bartley, Principal and Course Director of Starquest Performers College, examines the truth behind why so many performing arts colleges are overpriced…
I have been in the performing arts for 30-plus years. I have starred in the West End and on Broadway stages and travelled the world. Music, song and dance has been my life. I could not have wished for a better one.
I still perform in musical theatre but I also spend a lot of my time with young students who want to travel the same road as I did.
I have so many friends in the business. Through them I can help to kickstart these young person’s career paths in showbusiness. It is my passion and vocation. The trouble is that not everyone has that same desire to help.
It is a real worry. I have people coming to me all the time. They all have the same question: “Why do the big performing arts colleges cost so much when they give so little in return?”
It can cost up to £30,000 a year including accommodation to attend those schools. Nearly £100,000 for a three-year course! For that you can get class sizes of 30-plus, zero ‘one-on-one’ time and no guarantee of work at the end. It’s ridiculous.
So why is the industry letting young people down so badly?
Let’s not blame the colleges as they will charge as much as they can get away with. The real problem is that parents and students don’t do their research. They are seduced by the promises of the big brands and fail to look around for an alternative.
And there are lots of alternatives. Starquest Performers College being a great example.
Starquest is a small vocational college based in north Kent. It only takes ten students a year and has a teaching roster as good as the very biggest names.
It offers modules in all forms of dance, song, acting, fitness and performance. At the end of three years, students receive an OFQUAL accredited and recognised diploma in Dance and Musical Theatre studies and… a guarantee to earn your money-back in post graduate work without having student loans.
It is a hundred times better than the big London names can offer and for a third of the price. Starquest students go on to musicals, opera, ballets and television work. Each student, at the end of their third year is personally helped into work.
The trouble is that success stories of independents like Starquest don’t get told. People don’t even know that there is an alternative because they are blinkered by the more named established brands.
I want that to change. I want to get the word out to parents and students that there is a better way. It is difficult. I know that there must be lots of other small, independents who are facing the same problem. I would love to hear from them.
There must be a way to help parents and students see through the smoke and mirrors of the big brands. Help them find schools like Starquest where teaching, care and career development is more important than just charging huge fees. We just need to find it.
Young people deserve the very best start in life and it’s my mission to see they get it.C
- If you would like to audition for Starquest Peformers College then please see http://www.starquestpc.co.uk/open-day-auditions/ for more information. The college runs audition open days on 25 March, 29 April, 20 May and 24 June 2019
- If you would like to respond to Craig Bartley’s feature, email: office@starquestpc.co.uk
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