Ravenscourt Theatre School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ravenscourt Theatre School is a stage/performing arts school in London for children aged 7 to 19 years old. The School was founded in 1989 by Sir Robin Phillips Bt following the closure of the Corona Stage Academy following the retirement of its principal, Rona Knight. Corona was a very successful drama school running for some forty years in Hammersmith and producing top stars of stage and screen.
Sir Robin ran the Corona agency for many years and most of the traditions of Corona were incorporated into the Ravenscourt Theatre School including the uniform and the teaching format, which had full academic studies in the morning and vocational training in the afternoon. Today, the school is run by Christopher Price and Rowena Brooks, following the retirement of Sir Robin in March 2007.
Many children who have attended Ravenscourt have gone on to have succsessful careers. The following list was confirmed by Ravenscourt Theatre School: Daniela Denby-Ashe (Eastenders and My Family), Dean Gaffney (Eastenders), Leona Lewis (X Factor 2006 winner), Charlie Brooks (EastEnders), Tom Fletcher (McFly), Celena Cherry (Honeyz), Harry Capehorn (Harry And Cosh), Elizabeth Holmes-Gwillim (Family Affairs), Chris Dyer (Oliver!), Julia Lee-Smith (Family Affair and Night and Day), Simon Fenton (The Power Of One, Matinee), Daniel Newman (Prince Of Thieves).
Notable alumni of the Corona Academy include: Nicholas Lyndhurst, Ray Winstone, Helen Worth, Dennis Waterman, Nicola Stapleton, Francesca Annis, Mark Lester, Patsy Kensit, Susan George, Nick Pickard, John Pickard, Frazer Hines, Louis Aquilina, Richard O'Sullivan, Joseph Cuby and Paul Lockwood.
