Higher Education Programme
Foundation Degree
The Foundation Degree in Circus Arts is a two year vocational course which aims to equip students with the skills to gain employment in the performing arts sector.
The first year of the Foundation Degree focuses on developing strength and flexibility, proficiency in acrobatics and capabilities in movement and theatre. Specialisation assessments in various circus disciplines enable each student to find one circus discipline which will be suited to them.
The second year is devoted to developing technical abilities in a chosen discipline and in deepening understanding of different performance contexts.
Throughout, the course will focus on performance related assessment both as an individual and as part of an ensemble. Students must complete and pass all modules in both years of the course in order to obtain the qualification. If a student attains the required standards they may be invited to progress to a third ‘top up’ year towards a BA (Hons) Degree.
The course is divided into modules for assessment purposes with a varying number of modules in each year. The training is intensive, weeks are 35 hours long and each year is 36 weeks in length in order to sustain physical progression.
Class sizes vary depending on the specific discipline being taught. As well as physical skill development there is a strong focus on artistic exploration and creativity, history, critical analysis and business planning.
All Higher Education courses contain academic components as an important part of assessment. Written projects, essays and research presentations are required in order to progress from one year to the next.
