Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts Glasgow Southside
BEST FOR
Ages 6-18
ENTRY
from £70.50
WHERE
Glasgow
What it’s like
Weekly Saturday sessions in musical theatre, drama and film-making for kids aged 6 to 18, paid as a rolling membership.
Three hour-long classes make up a Saturday here: Musical Theatre for the singing and choreography crowd, Comedy & Drama for the ones who want to improvise and write their own scripts, and Film & TV, which is the one that sets this apart from most drama clubs. That last class covers screenwriting, filming, lighting and sound, so a kid who's more interested in what happens behind the camera than in front of it still has somewhere to go.
It runs 10am to 1pm and 1.45pm to 4.45pm on Saturdays, three hours either way, which is a proper chunk of a weekend morning gone but also long enough that you're not just doing a drop-off and turnaround. Age range is 6 to 18, so it spans primary kids finding their feet through to teenagers doing more serious scriptwriting work.
The cost is where you need to pay attention. It's £94 a month for Main Academy, £70.50 if you've got a sibling joining too, and that's paid monthly across the whole academic year, summer holidays included, because it runs as a membership rather than a pay-per-week class. You can't use tax-free childcare vouchers, it's Direct Debit only, and you're committing to a minimum of two months with four weeks' notice to leave. A free trial session is offered before you sign up to anything, which is worth using given the commitment involved.
Sessions do fill up, and if your child's age group is full you go on a waiting list rather than turning up on the day.
Facilities
Need to know
- Best for
- 6 to 18, with older teens doing the meatier scriptwriting work
- How long to allow
- 3 hours per weekly session
- Worth knowing
- One free trial session available to all new members
- Payment is Direct Debit only, no tax-free childcare vouchers accepted
- You're charged monthly across the whole academic year, including summer, to hold your child's place
- A 25% sibling discount applies if more than one child from your family joins
- Minimum two-month membership with four weeks' notice to cancel
Plan your visit
How much does it cost?
£94 a month for Main Academy, £70.50 a month if you're enrolling siblings together. It's a monthly membership rather than a one-off class fee, and it's charged through the summer too.
Can we try it before committing?
There's a free trial session for new members, as long as there's space in the right age group. If the group's full you go on the waiting list instead.
Do we need to book?
Yes, sessions are booked in advance and popular age groups do fill up.
How long is each session?
Three hours, split into three hour-long classes. Saturday sessions run 10am to 1pm or 1.45pm to 4.45pm.
What age is it for?
Main Academy takes children aged 6 to 18, all working across the same three classes: Musical Theatre, Comedy & Drama, and Film & TV.
Can we leave whenever we want?
There's a minimum membership period of two months and they ask for four weeks' notice if you want to leave after that.
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