Performing Arts Level 3

Our flagship performing arts course is equivalent to three A Levels and around 70% practical. You’ll train in movement, voice, text analysis, and theatre and screen acting, led by industry-experienced tutors and professional practitioners, with workshops from visiting professionals.

You won’t just perform in a classroom. Every performance takes place in a professional venue, from local venues such as Billington’s and Whittles to Manchester stages including 53two and Band on the Wall.

You’ll work to real call times, rehearse in unfamiliar spaces, work alongside venue technicians and perform to paying audiences, so you can experience how the industry works before you leave College.

You’ll also finish the course with a showcase in Manchester.

You’ll be assessed continuously throughout each project. For every project, you’ll keep a digital portfolio of research and rehearsals that leads to a final piece, which is assessed through performance.

Feedback is recorded on the College’s digital assessment platform, and one-to-one tutorials will review your progress and set targets.

Your final grade comes from your Final Major Project, a performance of your own choosing in a professional venue. This is assessed by tutors and peers and externally moderated by University of the Arts London (UAL).

You could progress to university or drama school, with recent students securing places at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), Arden, the Central School of Speech and Drama and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

You could also progress to our Level 4 programme or move straight into the industry through our end-of-course showcase in Manchester.

Career routes include:

• Actor
• Performer
• Dancer
• Theatre maker
• Drama facilitator
• Stage manager
• Drama teacher

The creative industries are one of the UK’s fastest-growing sectors, with key creative jobs projected to grow by 416,000 (27%) between 2025 and 2035 (Skills England, 2026).

Around 28% of people working in the creative industries are self-employed, twice the UK average, so you’ll also develop the business skills needed to work freelance.