A famous London theatre academy is to close its junior school due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts said it has decided to shut its junior school, based in the Barbican, next year, following a “top to bottom review” of its operations.
Principal Sam Newton said: “Following an extensive and thorough internal review, it is with regret that we have had to take the heart-breaking decision to close the junior school at the Italia Conti Academy at the end of July 2021.”
She added: “As I am sure you can appreciate, this has been an incredibly difficult decision to make and one we have considered long and hard. However, as the school is heavily reliant on the timely receipt of privately funded tuition fees, our limited capacity to function in the conventional way has placed an intolerable strain on our finances.”
She said the extended lockdown period had “further rendered our current position untenable”.
Italia Conti will continue to offer its diploma and degree programmes. Its alumni include Karen Gillan, Naomi Campbell and Kelly Brook.
