Access Creative College celebrates the opening of new state-of-the-art campus in london with an inspiring evening featuring live music and special guests

10 November 2023 - Press release

Ed Sheeran, Patron of Access Creative College: “Access College gave me so much freedom to be creative and to have a base to meet like-minded people I hadn’t really known before”

• New site offers unrivalled courses and facilities across gaming, music, esports, computing and media for over 750 students
  
  
• Access Creative College has nurtured and developed some of the biggest names in British music such as Ed Sheeran, FLO, Jess Glynne, Nova Twins & Rita Ora
  
  

Last night, Access Creative College (ACC) celebrated the launch of its newest campus in Whitechapel, London, with an inspiring evening featuring support from its famous past alumni including Ed Sheeran, Let’s Eat Grandma and Beth McCarthy, as well as Angela Rayner (Deputy Leader of the Labour Party) as the Guest of Honour. Specialising in creative education across music, esports, media and computing, the campus is open now for applications at www.accesscreative.ac.uk/campuses/london/.

Access Creative College has over 4500 learners studying at campuses in Birmingham, Bristol, Lincoln, Manchester, Norwich, Plymouth and London. In September 2023, ACC launched a brand-new, multi-million pound campus in East London, replacing their previous space in Shoreditch. ACC London is the institution’s seventh campus, opened as part of efforts to provide opportunities in creative education to young people across the country.

With a track record of producing stars and careers over the last 30 years since its inception in 1992, ACC has nurtured and developed some of the biggest names in British music including FLO, Jess Glynne, Nova Twins, Rita Ora, and a certain Ed Sheeran – who studied the Artist Development programme at Access Creative College’s former London campus in 2007-08.

Now a Patron for ACC, Sheeran shared an inspiring video message with those in attendance:

“I went to Access College in Bromley by Bow when I was 17 and 18, and it just gave me so much freedom to be creative in London and have a base to meet like-minded people I hadn’t really known before. A lot of the time you go to school and you’re made to feel you have to grow up and get a proper job and what Access does is it gives you a safety net of trying something before you go out into the big wide world. I found it so helpful and I hope you enjoy going there. I’m sure there are people there that are going to be headlining festivals in 10 years' time!”

The evening also featured a special performance from ACC alumni Beth McCarthy, a tour of its innovative facilities that push the boundaries of creative education, as well as a series of workshops to give attendees a taste of the college’s courses. This ranged from DJ masterclasses to an introduction into the burgeoning world of VR, plus an opportunity to compete as an esports pro.

For more information on Access Creative College, head to https://www.accesscreative.ac.uk/.