The Italia Conti Academy is Britain's oldest theatre arts training school. It was founded in 1911 by the actress Italia Conti. It is the only theatre school to offer full-time in-house courses at secondary, further and higher education levels. The Academy promotes multi-skilled training, believing the more opportunities offered to students, the wider the choice of options in the work place. A Drama School is a higher education college which specialises in the vocational teaching of drama. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The Academy grew out of the first production of the play Where the Rainbow Ends. Italia Conti, who was already an established actress and had a reputation for her success working with young people, was asked to take over the job of training the cast. The play was a triumph and the school was born in basement studios in London’s Great Portland Street. Where the Rainbow Ends is the title of: A novel by Jameson Currier A play for children by Clifford Mills and John Ramsey Category: ... Great Portland Street is a street in the West End of London. ...

The Academy's principle has always been to provide a thorough education and training. Staff of professional experts give students that enter the profession with the necessary professional skills, having also been encouraged to develop their social talents and to evolve a set of standards essential for personal and professional fulfilment.

Today

The Academy's main offices and studios are on Goswell Road in London, while the theatre and acting courses take place in the Avondale building, located in north Clapham. The main building houses the junior school (9-15) and also the 3 year musical theatre course (16-19), where actors and dancers are prepared for the professional stage and screen. Facilities include 152-seater Avondale Theatre, the Sheridan Studio Theatre, a fully-equipped recording studio, a TV studio, acting and movement studios, IT facilities, junior school rooms, fully equipped dance studios, a canteen, and The Italia Conti Agency. Goswell Road is a road in the south of the London Borough of Islington. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Clapham is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South London. ... A Junior School is most commonly a school for pupils aged 7-11 in the United Kingdom. ...

Further Italia Conti facilities include:

• The Italia Conti Associate School Chislehurst, which provides professional classes to students aged 4-18 on Thursday and Friday Evenings and all day Saturdays at Coopers Technology College, Chislehurst. This is one of several associate schools in the UK that provides training in Theatre arts to children and teenagers.
• The Italia Conti Art Centre at Guildford, which provides training for future teachers of performing art students.
• Italia Conti Tunbridge Wells, which provides performing arts courses at the Skinners School in Tunbridge Wells, as well as a one-year course for students who wish to see if they are attracted to the profession.
• Some other schools have courses that are in association with the Academy.

Chislehurst is a place in the London Borough of Bromley. ... Not to be confused with Guilford. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Royal Tunbridge Wells (often called simply Tunbridge Wells) is a Wealden town in west Kent in England, just north of the border with East Sussex. ...

Notable alumni

• Leslie Ash
• Tracie Bennett
• Lewis Bradley
• Russell Brand (Expelled)
• Johnny Briggs
• Kelly Brook
• Naomi Campbell
• Shirley Cheriton
• Noel Coward
• Linda Davidson
• Lucy Davis
• Letitia Dean
• Peter Duncan
• Clive Dunn
• Ben Ellis
• Sadie Frost
• Jill Gascoine
• Claire Goose
• William Hartnell
• Charles Hawtrey
• Julianne Hough
• Olivia Hussey
• Patsy Kensit
• Bonnie Langford
• Gertrude Lawrence
• Emily Lloyd
• Millicent Martin
• Martine McCutcheon
• Amanda Mealing
• Henry McGee
• Sheree Murphy
• Anthony Newley
• Nanette Newman
• Sharon Osbourne
• Leslie Phillips
• Jenny Powell
• Louise Redknapp
• Wendy Richard
• Lisa Scott-Lee
• Julia Sawalha
• Nadia Sawalha
• Dinah Sheridan
• Jean Simmons
• Lisa Snowdon
• Lucy Speed
• Claire Sweeney
• Tracey Ullman
• Googie Withers
• Lena Zavaroni

Leslie Ash (born 19 February 1960 in Clapham, London) is an English actress best known for playing Deborah in the situation comedy Men Behaving Badly. ... Tracie as Tracy Glazebrook in Joking Apart. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Russell Edward Brand [1] (born June 4, 1975 in Grays, Essex) is an English comedian and radio/television personality. ... Johnny Briggs (born 5 September, 1935) is a British actor. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Naomi Campbell (born May 22, 1970) is an iconic British supermodel, actress, singer and author. ... Shirley Cheriton (born in London on 28 June 1955) is a British actress and performer, most famous for her roles as Debbie Wilkins in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and her portrayal of Miss Prescott in the Are You Being Served follow up Grace & Favour. ... Noel Coward Sir Noel Peirce Coward (December 16, 1899 – March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... Linda as Mary in EastEnders Linda Davidson (born 18 June 1964 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a British actress, best known for playing the wayward punk, Mary Smith in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. ... Lucy Davis (born 2 January 1973) is an English actress. ... Letitia Dean (born 14 November 1967 in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire) is an English actress, probably best known for her role as Sharon Rickman in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. ... Peter Duncan is the name of several people: For the actor, former Blue Peter presenter and UK Chief Scout, see Peter Duncan (actor). ... Clive Dunn OBE (born January 9, 1920) is a retired English actor, singer and entertainer best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom, Dads Army. ... Ben Ellis was a contestant on the BBCs Any Dream Will Do, which offered the chance to be the next West End Joseph for the hit musical Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Jill Gascoine (born April 11, 1937 in Lambeth, London, England) is a British actress. ... Claire Goose (born 10 February 1975) is a British actress. ... For the Californio, see William Edward Petty Hartnell. ... There have been two notable actors named Charles Hawtrey: Sir Charles Hawtrey (1858-1923), stage and silent film actor; Charles Hawtrey (1914-1988), who named himself after the earlier actor, and is best known for the Carry On films. ... Julianne Marie Hough (born July 31, 1988) is an American professional ballroom dancer, and television celebrity. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Patricia Jude Frances Kensit (born 4 March 1968 in Hounslow, Middlesex) is an English actress and singer, and is also well-known for her three celebrity marriages. ... Bonnie Langford Bonita Melody Lysette Bonnie Langford (July 22, 1964) is an English actress and entertainer. ... Gertrude Lawrence (June 4, 1898 - September 6, 1952) was an actress and musical performer popular in the 1930s and 1940s, appearing on stage in London and on Broadway, and in several films. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Millicent Mary Lillian Martin (born 8 June 1934) is an English actress, singer and comedienne. ... Martine McCutcheon (born Martine Kimberley Sherri Ponting[1] on May 14, 1976) is an English singer and Olivier award-winning actress. ... Amanda Mealing (b. ... Henry McGee (born 14 May 1929, London) is an actor who is best known for acting as a straight man to Benny Hill for many years. ... Sheree Murphy (born 6 June 1975, Islington, North London, England) is a British actress. ... Anthony George Newley (born on September 24, 1931 in the London Borough of Hackney; died on April 14, 1999) was an English actor, singer and songwriter. ... Nanette Newman (born 29 May 1934), is a British Actress and Author. ... Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, then Arden; born October 9, 1952) is a well-known English music manager and promoter, television personality and presenter. ... Leslie Samuel Phillips OBE (b. ... Jenny Powell (born 8 April 1968 in Ilford, London), is a British television presenter. ... Louise Elizabeth Redknapp (née Nurding) (born November 4, 1974) is an English singer and television presenter, usually referred to by her first name alone. ... Wendy Richard MBE (born Wendy Emerton on 20 July 1943) is a popular English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders from 1985 to 2006. ... Lisa Michelle Scott-Lee (born 5 November 1975 in St Asaph, Denbighshire, Wales) is a Welsh singer. ... Julia Sawalha (born 9 September 1968) is an English actress who is best known for her roles of Lynda Day, editor of The Junior Gazette in the childrens drama series Press Gang, Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. ... Nadia Sawalha (born November 18, 1964 in Wandsworth, London, England) is an English actress and television presenter of Jordanian descent. ... Dinah Sheridan (born Dinah Mec in Hampstead, London on 17 September 1920) is a popular English-born actress who appeared in the film Genevieve (1954). ... Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons in Angel Face Jean Merilyn Simmons (born January 31, 1929 in Crouch Hill, London, England, United Kingdom) is a British actress. ... Lisa Snowdon (born Lisa Snawdon on 2 September 1971) is an English supermodel sometime actress , television presenter and singer. ... Lucy on the gameshow Jumpers for Goalposts Lucy Speed (born December 03, 1977, in Wallington, Surrey) is a British actress, probably best known for her role as Natalie Evans in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. ... Claire Sweeney (born April 17, 1972 in Walton, Liverpool) is an English actress, singer, television personality and presenter who is best known for her role as Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. ... Tracey Ullman (born December 30, 1959) is a British comedian, actress, singer, dancer, screenwriter, and author, who is most famous for being the host of her eponymous variety television show. ... Googie Withers (born March 12, 1917 in Karachi, Pakistan) is a British actress. ... Cover of Lena Zavaronis first record album, Ma! Hes Making Eyes at Me (1974) Lena Zavaroni was a Scottish singer (November 4, 1963 - October 1, 1999). ...

In literature

The Italia Conti Academy is the inspiration for the drama school in At Freddie's, a novel by Penelope Fitzgerald, who taught at the academy in the 1960s. Penelope Fitzgerald (17 December 1916 - 28 April 2000) was an English poet, novelist and biographer. ...

External links

• Italia Conti
• List of Italia Conti associate schools
• The school's comprehensive list of alumni
• Italia Conti School - Chislehurst