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Court Theatre Training Company (CTTC) is delighted to announce a new higher education partnership with Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD), which will become the validating higher education provider for CTTC’s two-year accelerated BA (Hons) Acting degree from September 2027.
The partnership brings together two specialist institutions with a shared commitment to intensive, vocational performing arts training and the development of artists equipped for the realities of today’s creative industries.
Established in 1989 and based at The Courtyard Theatre in Shoreditch, London, CTTC delivers its actor training within a working professional theatre environment. Its accelerated BA (Hons) Acting programme combines rigorous practical training with extensive performance experience, enabling students to complete a full honours degree over two intensive years.
While validation provides the academic framework and quality assurance underpinning a degree, CTTC believes there are particular benefits when a specialist performing arts institution works with a validating partner that understands the distinctive nature of professional vocational training and that’s what this partnership brings.
Working with NSCD therefore provides CTTC with a validating partner whose own experience is rooted in specialist performing arts higher education and which understands the intensity, ambition and particular requirements of conservatoire-style training.
Timothy Gill, Principal of Court Theatre Training Company, said:
‘To work with a performing arts partner such as NSCD in delivering our intensive two-year BA (hons) actor training is a great step forward for our students and the strengths of both institutions will deliver a robust and modern actor training!’
Paul Taylor, Executive Director of Court Theatre Training Company, said:
“NSCD understands that model because specialist vocational training is part of its own world. That shared understanding gives us a very strong foundation on which to develop the BA and, importantly, to explore new opportunities for students in the future.”
The partnership comes during a significant period of development for CTTC. The school has recently invested substantially in its Shoreditch facilities, including new retractable auditorium seating, improved technical and digital media suite and infrastructure, a recording studio and enhanced learning resources. In addition to a whole new digital teaching portal.
CTTC is also developing its future academic portfolio, with plans for further specialist provision alongside its established actor training.
The partnership reflects a wider recognition of the importance of specialist providers within performing arts higher education. Smaller vocational institutions can offer highly focused training, close contact with industry professionals and learning environments specifically designed around the needs of emerging performers, while validation partnerships provide the academic oversight and quality assurance associated with recognised higher education awards.
CTTC is a Partner Member of the Federation of Drama Schools and has been training actors for stage and screen since 1989.
The new validation arrangement with Northern School of Contemporary Dance will apply to students beginning CTTC’s BA (Hons) Acting programme from September 2027.