A new north-east of England specialist performing arts academy for undergraduates, LMA Newcastle, opened on Monday.
Based on St James' Boulevard in the city centre, it is the third campus opened by the creative institution, which has other sites in Liverpool and London. The initials LMA reference the academy's history as the Liverpool Media Academy.
Who are the students?
The school's inaugural cohort is made up of 75 first-year Bachelor of Arts students, many of them from the North East.
"It's nice to have it on our doorstep," said 19-year-old Savannah Lily, from Jarrow, who came third in the 2021 edition of The Voice Kids UK and is now studying Music Performance at LMA.
"Usually you've got to, like, move somewhere else, so to have something on our doorstep is really good."
"It's so great to have all the arts collectively in one building, because then you can network and connect with each other," Lily says.
Who will be teaching?
The academy has 17 staff, of whom 15 are arts professionals currently practising in the industry and working part-time as freelancers at the academy. Principal Deni Chambers refers to them as the "rockstars on the roster".
They include:
Mike Smith, music manager and producer who previously worked with Sam Fender
Erin Caldwell, West End actress who starred as Veronica Sawyer in Heathers The Musical and played Jane Seymour in SIX The Musical on its UK and international tour
Jazz Peters, dancer from South Shields who recently toured Europe with J Balvin and performed alongside 50 Cent on the London leg of his Final Lap tour.
Kema Kay, rapper and actor from Newcastle who starred in I, Daniel Blake
Chambers said hiring staff native to the North East was a priority.
"Their experience growing up, having to leave the region - they absolutely want to make a difference to the next generation," she said.