At PQA, we’re all about creating a space where every young person feels welcome, valued, and able to discover their potential. Whoever your child is, whatever their background, identity, or circumstances, they deserve equal opportunities to learn, grow, and express themselves.
We’re proud to champion a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion across our academies. We want every student to feel confident in who they are and excited to take part in everything PQA offers.
We stand firmly against discrimination, bullying, and harassment, and we work hard to create positive, respectful environments rooted in kindness and consideration.
Our values are shaped by our learning approach, and within this we have two key pillars:
Wellbeing: helping children connect with each other, be active, take notice of simple joys, keep learning and give people their time, words and presence.
Mindfulness: encouraging kindness, connection, adaptability, body–mind awareness, self‑acceptance, positive choices, compassion, joyfulness, and resilience.
You can explore our full approach in our EDI guidance.
Equality at PQA isn’t about treating every child the same, it’s about making sure every child gets what they need to have a fair and fulfilling experience.
We don’t favouritise. Our casting choices, weekly classes, and project work are designed to empower students, build confidence, and ensure everyone has the chance to participate meaningfully.
Where possible, we make reasonable adjustments to ensure sessions are accessible to all. We consider each young person’s needs and experience so that every child can enjoy PQA in a way that works for them.
We believe diversity is one of PQA’s greatest superpowers. Every background, story, culture, idea, and lived experience brings something unique to our community, and it’s this mix that makes PQA such a vibrant place to learn and create.
Our students, past and present, continue to amaze us. You can see this diversity reflected in our competition winners. Here are some of our most recent films that showcase diversity at PQA:
Lady Oriole by Kinara from PQA Wickford submitted for the Young Screenwriter Competition which explored Montserrat folklore and culture through their script.
What does a hero look like? By Faye and Eve from PQA Ashford submitted for A Heros Journey Filmmaker Competition which explored how her community supported her as she walks through life as a young person with down syndrome.
What’s That Scar by Lucy from PQA Eastleigh submitted for the Summer of Me Filmmaking Competition about their health condition.
These stories and so many more show how creativity flourishes when young people of all walks of life feel seen, heard, and celebrated.
Inclusion isn’t a tick-box exercise for us; it’s woven into everything we do at PQA. We want every young person to feel they can take part fully in competitions, projects, West End opportunities, and during their week to week PQA journey. To make this possible, we build thoughtful, flexible, and inclusive practices into our work, such as:
Flexible performance formats: In our internal Monologue Competition, young people can perform in different ways to suit their learning style, confidence level, or communication needs.
Inclusive West End design: For Lights, Camera, Zapped, we created a poster that could represent any child, helping every student imagine themselves stepping into the adventure.
A gender‑neutral mascot: In My PQA Journey, our mascot Skye is gender‑neutral, allowing every child to see themselves reflected in the PQA story.
Use of symbol systems: Many academies use symbol systems to support understanding, reduce anxiety, and help young people navigate their sessions with confidence.
Projects shaped around students: Principals are encouraged to design or select projects that reflect the interests, needs, and strengths of their current students, ensuring learning feels relevant and accessible.
While we aim to welcome and support as many young people as possible, we can’t always guarantee that we’re able to accommodate every individual need. This can be due to a range of factors, including the facilities and setup of each academy, which vary from location to location. When this happens, Principals always explore reasonable adjustments first and work closely with families to find the best possible outcome for their child.
We want every child to feel understood and able to thrive. That’s why we invest in continuous training for our Principals, Teachers, and Assistants.
Our teams take part in live and online sessions, use a shared language dictionary, and access specialist bespoke resources and support created in collaboration with Angel Shed, a theatre company known for its expertise in inclusive practice.
The training provided helps our staff feel confident when supporting students and when speaking with parents and carers about wellbeing, inclusion, and individual needs.
Principals also have access to 1-on-1 guidance from Angel Shed whenever they’re navigating situations where expert support is helpful.
Principal Carly at PQA Bristol & PQA Bristol Long Ashton, said: “Performing Arts shouldn't be about fitting into one mould, it should be discovering who you are building confidence and finding your voice....We want our spaces to reflect the real world young people are growing up in and where differences are celebrated and every child feels like they belong. To us that means it's important to continually learn about we support children with special needs, neurodiverse children, disabled young people and students with different cultural backgrounds and different family structures, and children who may need support and things approached in a different way to help them to thrive."
As we continue to evolve our practice, we remain guided by the experiences of our students, the expertise of our partners, and the belief that inclusive spaces don’t just happen, they are built with intention, care, and collaboration. Together, we’ll keep shaping an environment where every young person can shine in their own way and feel truly at home in the PQA community.
Yes! Every academy offers one free trial session, as long as there is space available in the age group. If the group is currently full, you can join the waiting list, and we’ll contact you as soon as a place becomes available.
PQA runs for 41 weeks throughout the school year. You can find the full list of term dates on each academy’s webpage, just search for your local academy and visit its web page.
PQA provides performing arts training for children and teens aged 4–18. Our Main Academy (ages 6–18) includes three core classes:
Some academies also offer Poppets (ages 4–6), an energetic 90-minute class introducing young children to singing, dancing and acting.
PQA welcomes all children, whether they’re complete beginners or already confident performers. There’s no audition needed to join.
At PQA students in Main Academy are grouped by age, learning with other children and young people at similar stages.
This depends on where you feel your child will be happiest. Some 6-year olds are ready to join the 6-9 age group in Main Academy, others will feel more comfortable starting in Poppets.
Your always welcome to discuss what’s best for your child with your local Principal before booking your free session.