Hull Performance Academy shortlisted for national 2026 Musical Theatre Award

The Hull Performance Academy at St Mary's College, Hull is celebrating national recognition after being shortlisted for the Award for Achievement in Musical Theatre Provision, proudly sponsored by Music Theatre International (MTI), as part of the Music & Drama Education’s 2026 awards season.

This award recognises educational institutions that demonstrate outstanding commitment to nurturing musical theatre talent and providing exceptional opportunities for young school performers to thrive. Being named a finalist once again places the Hull Performance Academy among the leading performing arts departments in the country.

The Hull Performance Academy has built a strong reputation for excellence in performing arts education — from staging ambitious productions, performing on international platforms, to offering high-quality training that equips students with professional-level skills. Over recent years, it has developed a vibrant, inclusive community where creativity, discipline and passion for performance shine through. Former students of the academy are pursuing award-winning, successful careers for themselves both in the UK and overseas.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵-𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘏𝘗𝘈 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵.” said Maria Stead, Headteacher at St Mary’s.

Ben Lancaster, Director of Performance added, “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰.”

The winners of the 2026 awards will be announced later this year, bringing together the very best in performing arts education and production.