The bottom line: Treading the boards as a social enterprise

I'd been working as an actor for six years when I decided I wanted to set up a professional part-time performing arts school for seven-to-18 year olds. I wanted it to be for those who had potential but could not afford expensive full-time drama school fees.

The usual cost is about 10,000-12,000 a year, at ours it is £855 a year paid in three installments. I received lots of support (not financial) from the Prince's Trust and the school opened in 2001 offering high level drama, singing and dance classes, as well as a film class and set / costume classes. I wanted the standards to reflect those normally only found in full-time schools, so we only have top West End directors and choreographers as teachers.

We invest a lot of time doing fundraising events to generate money for bursary places for students who struggle with costs. And, three years ago, I co-founded another performing arts venture for adults - City Academy - which I hope will eventually generate enough profit to help support the school.

The Academy has classes at venues including Sadler's Wells, the Dominion Theatre and Royal Opera House and we attract all sorts of people, including corporate types who want a fun outlet for relaxation and creativity.

Over the years the young people's school has helped hundreds of children develop their life skills and their achieve goals, from getting great jobs in theatre, film and television to just become more confident. And we have opened two more schools in London.

We currently have 160 children attending every Saturday in Hackney and on a Wednesday evening we have 50 students at our Isle of Dogs branch. On 20 February we opened a new Saturday branch in North London.

Every year so far we have staged a professional showcase at the Hackney Empire where students from Anna Fiorentini school and City Academy come together. The audience of over 1,000 people includes casting directors, TV/film directors and West End musical choreographers, as well as family and friends. Numerous students have been picked for big shows and films from this.

From a business perspective, I would love to change the mindset of funders and the mentality of having to tick boxes. It's sad that so many funders have to support new projects as opposed to existing ones that already achieve amazing results.

Also, unfortunately the main way to get funding is to concentrate on developing drama around gun and knife crime as opposed to developing the foundation skills needed to succeed in performing arts in general, which I believe is one of the real ways to keep young people out of trouble.

It's our tenth anniversary next year and it's so good to see that we are becomingly increasingly respected and have now won several awards.

It is my aim to eventually get corporate sponsorship so that we can develop the opportunities we offer even further. If you are interested in working with us, please get in touch.

www.annafiorentini.com