8
1991
30 years of transforming the lives of young people
The Beginnings
Jonathan Morrish - BRIT Trustee 1991- to present
The School opened its doors on Wednesday 11th September , 1991 . It was raining , the main building wasn ’ t complete and the Principal , Anne Rumney , had to take the first intake of students on a guided tour in her wellington boots . There was local opposition to the school from both residents and other local schools , made worse by the negative perception that it was going to be a poor imitation of New York ’ s Fame School .
In addition , there was scepticism about not just CTCs ( City Technology Colleges ) but also one that was setting its stall out as specialising in teaching the performing arts ( a UK first ); on a political level , it didn ’ t help that the Prime Minister , Margaret Thatcher , saw no reason to fund a school for ‘ out of work luvvies ’.
It wasn ’ t a particularly auspicious start to an educational establishment whose now 10,000 alumni have made such a vital contribution to the UK ’ s culture , society and economy .
Backtracking , it all started in 1988 , when then Secretary of State for Education & Science , Kenneth Baker ( now Baron Baker of Dorking ) was approaching entrepreneurs to sponsor the burgeoning CTC programme .