The Hammond School, is a specialist co-educational performing arts school based in Chester

Chester

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

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Overview

Irene Hammond founded the Hammond School of Dancing in 1917, when she took over an established dance school in Chester. She expanded the school to include a full programme of performing arts studies. Betty Hassall became the principal of the school in 1946 and was responsible for much of the school's development, most notably the introduction of academic studies in 1965. This enabled the school to become a boarding school offering a full academic curriculum alongside vocational studies, with pupils attending from across the United Kingdom. Today, The Hammond School comprises a secondary school and sixth form for pupils aged 11–18 years, which offers specialist vocational training in Dance, Drama and Music. It also has a three year professional course leading to the National Diploma in Professional Dance or the National Diploma in Musical Theatre, validated by Trinity College, London. Sixth form also offers a BTEC in Performing Arts (acting) combined with 2 A levels. The school is accredited to the Council for Dance Education and Training and is a member of the Independent Schools Association

Independent Schools Association (UK)

The Independent Schools Association is an organisation of independent schools in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1879, it is one of the country's oldest such groups. It is a constituent association of the Independent Schools Council, and has a membership of around 300 schools...

. The Hammond is a MADE (Music and Dance Excellence) School, one of 8 schools in England funded by the Music and Dance Scheme, offering full bursaries to talented young people.