31/08/2026
NEW SPECIALIST ACTOR TRAINING FOR YOUNG PERFORMERS IN NORTHERN IRELAND.
The Shelley Lowry School is launching a new specialist acting training programme for children and young people age 8-18 years in Northern Ireland who have demonstrated the ability, instinct or potential to become exceptional actors and want to develop their talent further.
Designed for aspiring young actors or those whom already have some professional credits under their belt, the programme offers serious, structured actor training from an early age, combining professional standards with the creativity, confidence and enjoyment that make performance so powerful.
This is not simply another acting class. It is a focused pathway for young actors who may want to work professionally and would like to build the skills, discipline and understanding needed to take that ambition seriously.
Northern Ireland’s screen industry has transformed over the past 15 years. Our young actors are growing up in a region where major film and television productions are now regularly made and where opportunities that once required leaving Northern Ireland can increasingly begin here.
We want their training to reflect that.
As part of this new programme, our teaching team will undertake specialist training with The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art in Dublin, which has an academic association with RADA. We begin that training this week and will bring this new approach directly back to our students.
The programme will introduce young actors to the craft and discipline of professional actor training; helping them understand character, text, technique, physical and vocal work, interpretation and the demands of working as an actor.
Alongside their practical development, students will also work towards recognised acting examinations, meaning they can continue to gain formal qualifications and, at the appropriate grades, valuable UCAS points for future university applications.
At The Shelley Lowry School, our students can already train in Acting for Screen, Musical Theatre, Speech & Drama, Communication Skills, Dance and performance.
This new pathway allows us to go further for those children who have shown particular potential in Acting.
It is about identifying talent. Nurturing it properly. Challenging it. And giving young actors the foundations they need when applying to third level institutions and to be industry-ready when the opportunities come.
We are enormously proud to be bringing this level of training to young performers in Northern Ireland.
A new pathway. A higher level of training.
For the next generation of Northern Irish actors.
Classes will be offered in 10 week blocks starting in October.
Further details, including eligibility and how students will be selected for the programme will be announced soon.
To register your interest please email [email protected]
