First Fame-style school planned

It will be based on the Brit School where Amy Winehouse attended

The first fully-selective arts academy will be built in Birmingham, ministers have revealed.

The Fame-style school in the city's Eastside will train students in music, theatre, painting and other arts.

It will be based on the renowned Brit School in Croydon, south London, which was attended by Amy Winehouse and Katie Melua.

The school, which will teach up to 950 pupils aged 14 to 19, is one of three academies planned in the city.

The West Midlands Eastside Arts Academy will be jointly sponsored by Birmingham City University and the Ormiston Trust, which works for underprivileged children.

It will be run in partnership with the BBC, the Brit School, Birmingham City Council and Maverick TV, the production company behind shows like 10 Years Younger and How To Look Good Naked.

'Cultural skills'

The King Edward VI Foundation, which manages two private schools and five state grammar schools across the city, will sponsor the Sheldon Heath School, in Sheldon.

Edutrust, which already operates academies in other cities, will sponsor the College High School, in Erdington.

The creative industry is flourishing here in the city of Birmingham and this academy is going to underpin it and help us City Council Leader Mike Whitby

Teenagers from across the West Midlands will have a chance to audition for the performing arts academy.

Schools Minister Lord Adonis said that, although students would be chosen on their artistic abilities, the school would be made up of different academic abilities.

He added that it would be open to pupils "in the next few years".

City academies have been set up by the government across England and are intended to be high-investment, high-quality schools for the most deprived areas of England.

Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby said: "This is going to be the first performing arts academy in the country.

"It is going to allow people to develop their cultural skills.

"The creative industry is flourishing here in the city of Birmingham and this academy is going to underpin it and help us."