Drama and Acting Schools in the UK

 Have you set your heart on becoming an actor? Well, whether your aim is the stage, the big screen or television, by far the most practical route is to enrol in a drama school. There are plenty of them around the country, mainly offering three-year courses, but of course, the better the school you go to, the better your chances of making it. So which are the best drama and acting schools in the UK? Here are five of the highest rated.

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA)

 Founded over a hundred years ago, RADA is the most celebrated drama school in the UK, and one of the most celebrated in the world. If you make a list of your favourite actors, it's likely a fair proportion of them will have studied there, from Sir John Gielgud to Tom Hiddleston. Many classes are just a teacher to three students, ensuring in-depth training. You'll study both classical and modern styles of acting, but you also have the option of specialising in anything from musical theatre to clowning.

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA)

 Even older than RADA, LAMDA is a highly regarded drama school whose alumni have won all the awards going, including four Oscars. It offers both full three-year courses and short courses. These short courses, for students from sixteen upwards, range from a general Introduction to Drama School to more specialised options. You can study Shakespeare, film acting and audition techniques, and LAMDA also runs an Acting in English course for non-native speakers.

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

 Like RADA and LAMDA, Guildhall is in central London, close to arguably the greatest hub of theatre in the world. It was the school of choice of actors like Ewan McGregor and Orlando Bloom. The Guildhall offers small class sizes in its courses in drama, music and production arts. This means that you'll get highly personalised training and enjoy a great sense of community.

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

 If you'd rather stay away from the pressure and expense of being in London, the Bristol Old Vic offers a standard comparable to the best. Among many others, it's produced Daniel Day Lewis, Olivia Coleman and Sir Patrick Stewart. Besides the full three-year course, the Bristol Old Vic offers short courses for adults and teenagers, while its Activ8 programme is open to children from seven years old.

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS)

 The oldest of all these schools, Glasgow's Royal Conservatoire of Scotland can match anything London has to offer. It's produced actors of the calibre of Robert Carlyle and David Tennant, among many others. The RCS's main course covers the fields of acting, musical theatre and contemporary performance practice, and one of its unique specialities is training for actors who are deaf, using British Sign Language.

 Whichever of these you've set your heart on, some expert help to prepare you could make the difference between being accepted or not. If you register with TutorExtra, you can find a drama tutor who'll be just right for you.