A.C.T. Competitors

Guildhall School is a vibrant, international community of young musicians, actors and production artists in the heart of the City of London. Ranked as one of the top ten performing arts institutions in the world (QS World University Rankings 2019), and recently awarded top conservatoire in the Complete University Guide Music League Table 2020, the School is a global leader of creative and professional practice which promotes innovation, experiment and research, with over 1,000 students in higher education, drawn from over 70 countries around the world. The School is also the UK’s leading provider of specialist music training at the under-18 level with nearly 2,500 students in Junior Guildhall and the Centre for Young Musicians. Our diversity extends to the art forms that we cover. We are one of the few major European conservatoires to combine schools of music, drama and production arts. Working across disciplines frees us to break down boundaries across traditional art forms, to nurture invention, and to cross-fertilise ideas and methods. Since its founding in 1880, Guildhall School has stood as a vibrant showcase of the City of London Corporation's commitment to education and the arts. Situated in the heart of the City, the School moved to its present premises in the Barbican in 1977, solidifying a unique performance and learning partnership with Europe's largest arts and conference venue, the Barbican Centre, and its resident orchestra, the world-class London Symphony Orchestra. Collaboration is central to what we do. Our partnerships – between departments and with external organisations – create outstanding opportunities to learn from the leading edge of creative practice. Our professional partners include the Barbican Centre, the London Symphony Orchestra, the the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House and the Academy of Ancient Music.

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, a specialist conservatoire within the University of London, nurtures artists and performers that will lead the way in radically changing communities and global networks. We offer undergraduate, postgraduate, research degrees, and short courses in acting, actor training, applied theatre, theatre crafts and making, design, drama therapy, movement, musical theatre, performance, producing, puppetry, research, scenography, stage management, teacher training, technical arts, voice, and writing. Our special strength, unique in the sector, lies in a combination of first-rate practical training and production, with a highly ranked programme of research - research aimed at the cutting edge of new performance practice. Royal Central undoubtedly has the largest and most diverse faculty of specialist, expert staff and the broadest portfolio of drama, theatre and performance-related programmes in Europe.

Arts Educational Schools London (ArtsEd) based in Chiswick, West London is recognised across the globe as a centre of excellence for training in the performing arts. We are in fact four schools in one. Two schools offer diploma, degree and postgraduate level courses in musical theatre and acting. Another provides a variety of part-time and holiday courses in the performing arts for all ages and levels of experience. While the Independent Day School offers an arts-based education for 11-18 year olds which combines vocational training with academic success.