A call for action



A delegation assembles



Gesticulation lesson

In the early 1990s a number of dedicated colleges were set up to teach the performing arts and media. I was commissioned to produce a series of documentary pictures about one of them to be used to record the culture and curriculum for publicity and historical record purposes.

They were vibrant places quite accurately depicted in the film and tv series ‘Fame’, hence the nickname. Many of our well known stars emerged from them. They grew out of what were then called City Technology Colleges. They offered BTEC courses covering subjects such as Music, Drama, costume and set design, film and photography and Media.

Education in the late 1980s and early 90s was in turmoil with the introduction of the National Curriculum, Ofsted, the Incorporation of Further Education and freezing of FE lecturer’s pay. Alongside this in the wider community was considerable dissent with things like the Poll Tax riots. Students started to feel they had power and protested about many things.



On one of the days I was taking pictures the students decided to get together to make representation about the use of studio space. It was lunchtime as they went along the corridors singing an anthem to get others to join and follow them to the Principal’s office.

Being London in the 1990s, the student body was a very diverse mix of young people. They brought a wide range of cultural traditions and styles to the college giving. Performance became something that drew from these backgrounds. West Indian and Caribbean vibes mixed with Asian Bhangra, Central European as well as Western.