The £25m development of the Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA), which specialises in media, creative, digital and performing arts, is underway. It will open in September, ready for the new academic year.
The academy, which is adjacent to Millennium Point in central Birmingham, is being created in partnership with London’s Brit School and Maverick TV. It combines academic teaching with vocational courses covering music, broadcasting, musical theatre, performing arts, web design and gaming.
The facilities at the BOA include a fully equipped theatre, four dance studios, six rehearsal (drama) studios, 3d technology suite, open air amphitheatre, scenic construction workshop, costume design and construction rooms, make-up and props workshop, studios for visual arts and design, textiles, TV and film, photography, digital editing suite and animation and digital arts facilities.
“Working with industry partners such as Maverick TV and the Brit school, we will be teaching the future of British talent in the arts and media – such as the next Adele, Rankin, Tracy Emin or Nick Park. Our creative industries will soon benefit from this wealth of untapped potential from across the West Midlands,” says Gaynor Cheshire, academy principal.
BOA will initially open for sixth form years and, from next year, will include 14-16 year-olds. Admission is by selection via aptitude workshops, which are currently taking place.
