Since its founding in the 1950s, Rose Bruford College has been a beacon of excellence, innovation and artistic expression. It has been guided by a steadfast commitment to empowering generations of artists to realise their fullest potential.
Founded by three visionary women – Rose Bruford, Edith Scorer and Mary Henniker- Heaton – the institution emerged from a shared sense of adventure and a daring ambition to redefine the boundaries of arts education. Originally named The Rose Bruford Training College of Speech and Drama, the institution was founded with a unique purpose: to train actors who could teach and teachers who could act.
On 25th September 1950, for the opening of the College, Poet Laureate John Masefield wrote a dedicatory verse for the College’s prospectus. He stated, Adventure and be bold. There was perhaps a modicum of hindsight in his injunction, for Rose Bruford had been adventuring boldly for twelve months before the new college opened.
At the end of its first year, the College received full recognition from the Ministry of Education and in 1952, a not-for-profit company, indicating its charity status and controlled by a Board of Governors was formed. During the same year, the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama recognised the three-year diploma and one-year course certificates as qualifications for membership of the body.
Following a full inspection in 1953, the diplomas were recognised by the Ministry of Education, entitling holders to qualified teacher status. This was the same year that the first cohort of students graduated, and London County Council placed the College on its list of drama schools at which LCC awards were tenable. The maximum capacity of students was reached and competition for places had begun.
History was made in September 2018 when the first ever Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance degrees were awarded at a graduation ceremony in The Rose Theatre, Sidcup, following the granting of Taught Degree Awarding Powers by Her Majesty’s Privy Council in 2017. Today the College has a vibrant research culture that advances creativity for societal impact and awarded its first Ph.D. in September 2024.
For over seven decades, Rose Bruford College has remained at the forefront of the arts field, challenging conventions, breaking barriers, and shaping the future of artistic discourse.