New £2.4 million Performing Arts Centre for Oswestry School

The £2.4million project will see the school’s existing Memorial Hall transformed and expanded into a state-of-the-art 160 seat auditorium with a new foyer and multi-purpose studio spaces for the benefit of pupils and the local community. 

Oswestry School enjoys a strong reputation for excellence in the Performing Arts with pupils in both the Prep School and the Senior School provided with opportunities within and beyond the curriculum in dance, drama and music. 

The school plays an active role in the community including providing opportunities within the Performing Arts, most notably its Dance Academy which caters for more than 120 young people aged 2-18 who benefit from weekly lessons and numerous dance performances throughout the year. 

Headmaster Peter Middleton said: “This is a bold and ambitious project, which we are passionate about, placing the Performing Arts at the heart of our school and providing our local community with a new theatre and performance venue within walking distance of Oswestry town centre.”

The new facility was deigned by award-winning architects Levitt Bernstein who bring a wealth of experience working on similar school projects and the world-class concert venue The Bristol Beacon and the iconic Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre. They have delivered on the brief to create a dynamic and exciting new facility in keeping with the historic surroundings of the school campus with a strong architectural dialogue between the new Performing Arts Centre and the adjacent school chapel and main School House building.

With a planned opening for September 2026, curtains will go up as Oswestry marks the 250th anniversary of the school’s relocation to its present-day site; having been founded in 1407 and existed during its formative years in the Old School building in the grounds of St Oswald’s Church, Oswestry School relocated to Upper Brook Street in 1776 with the expansion of the school.   Its transformation in 2026 will be a fitting 250th birthday present.

Oswestry Schools Director of Performing Arts, Claire Thompson said: “Oswestry School has a long and rich history of Performing Arts provision. With an inspirational, energetic and professional team in place supported by our outstanding peripatetic teachers, Performing Arts at Oswestry School is in an exciting phase.

“As the school's Performing Arts Academy celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is the perfect time to announce that a new community facility is on the way.  I am excited and immensely proud to be championing the arts for the Oswestry community.”

Fundraising has already begun and through the generosity of a lead donor and other sources of funding, more than half the cost of the project has already been raised.

The new Performing Arts Centre marks an exciting new chapter in the school’s history and follows an excellent ISI inspection this year and recent campus developments including a new library, a refurbished Sixth Form Centre, and a brand new co-educational Sixth Form boarding house due to open in September 2024.

Peter said; “The stage is set for an exciting new facility for our school and our town, and we are greatly looking forward to bringing the vision into reality.”

The new centre is subject to planning permission being granted.