Education

London drama school ArtsEd has revealed it will delay publishing a public statement and summary of conclusions from an investigation into alleged misconduct by its senior leadership team.

The school's Acting Chair, Farida Mannan, said that although an update had been due on 30 April, it would now be deferred until 28 June.

Earlier this year, the board appointed barrister Ghazaleh Rezaie to independently investigate allegations of misconduct and bullying made against Principal Julie Spencer.

Spencer herself was appointed in 2022 after a previous independent review led to the resignation of former principal Chris Hocking.

The 2021 barrister-led investigation found that ArtsEd had a “sexualized environment” and demonstrated a “lack of regard” for the wellbeing of students, exposing them to favouritism, bullying and other misconduct.

Recent allegations against Spencer were made by students, alumni and former staff in Deadline and described a “toxic” and unsafe culture. ArtsEd has strongly disputed the claims.

In February, an employment tribunal heard a former staff member describe a “culture of fear” at ArtsEd and express unease about Spencer and her deputy, Yewande Akindele's leadership.

Spencer is currently on medical leave but has denied the allegations against her.

The Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film & Television (The SI) has been announced as the new name for Scotland's MGA Academy of Performing Arts.

The renaming was instigated by the school's new owners, Irish production house Silver Rock Studios. Funding for the school has been secured from West Lothian Council, Creative Scotland, and the Scottish Government.

The institute, Scotland's only school accredited by the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT), is now based in a campus in Livingston and will be open to international students for the first time.

President and CEO of The SI, Andy Egan, said: “It is an honour to introduce The Scottish Institute and open our brand new campus to our wonderful students, staff and visitors.

"The institute is built on the academy’s reputation and our roots in Edinburgh. This pivotal expansion further marks our commitment to fostering an environment where creativity, learning and profession development take centre stage."

He added: "As we invite our students to our new, state-of-the-art Livingston campus we aspire to nurture a hub that champions creativity, entrepreneurship and learning to inspire the next generation of talent.”

University museums and collections from 21 higher education institutes will receive a share of £14m of Higher Education Museums, Galleries, and Collections funding each year until 2029/2030.

The funding from Research England - part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation - has been raised from £11.7m and will go to 40 higher education museums, galleries, and collections, compared to 33 in previous rounds.

Among those receiving the multi-year grants are nine museums and collections at Cambridge University, which will share more than £2.9m, and four at Oxford, splitting more than £4m.

Three Birmingham University collections will share £400,000, while the Royal College of Music Museum and The Courtauld Institute of Art will get over £221,000 and £696,000, respectively.

Dr Liz Hide, Director of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences at Cambridge University, which has been awarded £210,000 a year, said the funding would go toward “[ensuring] researchers can fully utilise our new Collections Research Centre, and enabling our outstanding collections to inspire many new avenues of research across both the sciences and the humanities.”