A Clarendon Sixth Form College student has achieved his dream to study with a prestigious London conservatoire. 

Simeon Barrow, who studies performing arts with the college and is a former Copley Academy pupil, has accepted a place at Bird College of Dance and Musical Theatre. 

Bird College is one of the most prestigious performing arts conservatoires in the UK, with alumni including Melanie C, John Partridge and Lara Pulver. The college has state of the art facilities and dance studios and is well known for producing many stars of the west end. 

Simeon, who has had a passion for dance for most of his life, took part in an extensive interview and audition process in London. After completing a two hour dance class, watched closely by Bird College staff, Simeon was interviewed and then performed a self-choreographed piece. 

Alongside his studies with Clarendon Sixth Form College, Simeon trains with Kirsten’s Dance School in Mossley and dance group Company Chameleon up to seven days a week. 

Once he completes his studies with Bird College, Simeon hopes to become a cruise ship performer, then move into the west end and one day open a dance school to pass on the skills he has learnt during his career. 

Simeon said: “I am very grateful and excited about this opportunity. Bird College is the place that I wanted to study and in my mind, I had to get in to achieve what I wanted to achieve. Michelle my teacher has been really supportive and helped me lot with the theory side of dance; muscle movement, applying to a conservatoire, choreography etc. I can’t wait to start the next step of my career in September.” 

Michelle Forrest, performing arts teacher at Clarendon Sixth Form College, said: “Simeon has worked extremely hard both in his studies and outside of college, working to hone his skills and develop as a performer. He wholly deserves this massive achievement and I hope that he has a very successful career in the future. Well done Simeon.” 

Simeon is not the only Clarendon Sixth Form College student to achieve recent success in the industry, with fellow dancer Nic Lee joining the National Youth Dance Company in 2022. To find out more about performing arts courses at Clarendon Sixth Form College, visit www.clarendon.ac.uk or call 0161 908 6600.

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