The Stage newspaper celebrated its long running association with the Sylvia Young Theatre School by announcing one full and two half Stage- Sylvia Young Theatre School scholarships on 10 January, with three winners beginning their training in autumn.
The scholarships are worth £12,000 per year, with the full scholarship covering comprehensive training fees for each year the recipient attends the school, so has a potential worth of more than £60,000. The value of the two half scholarships brings the total Sylvia Young Theatre School scholarship value to more than £120,000, depending on the winners’ ages. Partnerships such as this provide young performers with a fantastic chance to develop their craft and hone their theatrical technique.
With ‘potential’ the main searching point of the prestigious judging panel, conducting prelims and selecting around 18 candidates for the finals. An independent panel then views the finalists, however not requiring the finalists to have already been fully trained, but with the capacity to expand their ability. It has been known for previous winners to not have had any formal training, but natural talent alone that Sylvia Young Theatre School and The Stage are able to support.
The full-time school offers an academic and vocational curriculum up to the age of 16, in addition to Saturday and evening classes. The full-time school is split into three days of academic work each week and two days of vocational training, with hard work and dedication at the forefront of the students’ minds. Founded in 1972, and becoming the full-time school it is today in 1980/81, the Sylvia Young Theatre School has raised some of the most outstanding performers in the industry, sending them into the tough yet rewarding world of performing arts.