When the Grammy winners took to the stage in Los Angeles on Sunday, a common bond was evident: many of them had once walked the halls of a special school in Croydon, south London.
British performers Olivia Dean, who won the prestigious award for Best New Artist; Lola Young, who won the Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for the song Messy; and FKA twigs, winner of the award for Best Dance/Electronic Album with Eusexua, have all attended the Brit School at Selhurst. So has Raye, who recently won the Harry Belafonte Award for Best Social Change Song with Ice Cream Man.
Since its opening in the 90s with a focus on the performing and creative arts, the Brit School has become a powerful platform for British stars to achieve global fame. The list of alumni is a who's who of British talent: Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, Tom Holland, Leona Lewis and Loyle Carner are among those who shaped their skills within the school's classrooms. Even artists who did not attend the school have referenced it, such as Ed Sheeran, who sang in the song You Need Me, I Don't Need You: "I will blast and I didn't go to Brit School."
For Stuart Worden, a teacher at the school since 1994 and principal since 2012, this year’s Grammys were “a brilliant celebration” of liberal arts education. “These girls are fantastic role models of what can be achieved when you give young people access to the arts,” he said.
While FKA twigs only stayed at the school for a short time, Worden vividly remembers Dean, Young and Raye (real name Rachel Keen), who joined at the age of 14. “They started in year 10, all close to each other. Lola and Olivia stayed until their final year of school, Raye left after her GCSEs because she was starting a music career.”
Dean, who combines soul, jazz and pop, is the first British performer to win Best New Artist at the Grammys since Dua Lipa in 2019, while several songs from her second album The Art of Loving simultaneously reached the Top 10 in the UK. Young's barrier-breaking single Messy topped the global charts, while Raye has already won seven Brit Awards.
“What stood out in all of them was their work ethic,” Worden said. “None of these artists are overnight successes. They’ve been playing small venues, working on their albums for years.”
Can you see a schoolgirl becoming a big star? “I don’t think so,” he said. “What Olivia, Raye and Lola have in common is that from an early age they wanted to write about things that really interested them.”
The Brit School aims to help young people find their voice. “What do you care? Then it’s their responsibility. Raye won a Grammy for Ice Cream Man, a candid look at bullying. Lola’s song has connected people because it speaks honestly about life’s challenges, smiling about being ‘messy.’ Olivia writes about the complexities of love. They’re not manufactured, they’re themselves, and that’s powerful.”
Although there are no classes on how to become a superstar, students learn professional standards and values like kindness. “If you allow people to be kind and open to emotions, it creates opportunities,” Worden said.
The three girls continue to stay in touch and work with the school. “I can remember when Raye was 14, and she said, ‘I’ll do this, sir,’” Worden said. “And amazingly, she still calls me ‘sir.’ We recently talked because she wanted some of our students to see her new play.”
Previous students of the Brit School have sold almost 300 million albums, amassed over 70 billion online streams and won dozens of prestigious awards including Grammys, Bafta, Oscar, Olivier and Brit Awards. Students study core subjects in addition to their artistic specialization, with more than 200 performances or events each year.
The school prides itself on its diversity: 40% of its 1,450 students are of global origin, 50% come from low-income families and a third have a SEN diagnosis.
“As a country, we need a lot of diverse voices in the arts,” Worden said. “Giving those from low-income families or neurodiverse backgrounds opportunities creates opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise exist.” /GazetaExpress/
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