A performing arts school which secured a £50,000 investment from Duncan Bannatyne on 2007's Dragons' Den is to open a franchise in Romford.
The Razzamataz performing arts school was founded in 2002 by Denise Hutton-Gosney, and has since secured partnerships with Disney, Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox, to name a few.
Launching tomorrow (September 3) at St Edward's Church of England VA Primary School for the first time, sisters Felicity Gower and Jessica Chandler said they are “so excited” to launch in their home town.
Friday sessions will also be held at Benhurst Primary School in Romford and Saturday sessions at The Campion School in Hornchurch.
The two principals said they have always dreamed of opening their own performing arts school as they wished they had a similar facility in the area when they were growing up.
Felicity said: “Razzamataz isn’t about being the best singer, dancer or actor.
“It’s about being the best version of you that you can be. It’s a safe place to grow confident in who you are.
“We hope that our students can take that strong sense of self and apply it to any dream that they set their minds to.”
Jessica launched her franchise branch of Razzamataz in Brentwood in 2017 and expanded into Hornchurch in 2019, with Felicity joining for the Romford launch.
"Being part of the Razzamataz franchise is being part of a family, that’s one of the reasons that we chose to be part of Razzamataz," Jessica said.
“Being a Razz family is a motto of our school and we are there for our students in their performing arts journeys as well as supporting them with other aspects of their lives, like confidence for exams or dealing with anxiety.”
Denise said Dragons' Den was a huge “springboard” and “almost overnight” gave the brand huge amounts of exposure.
She added: “Even now, all these years on, new franchisees often tell me they remember watching the show, even though some of them were only children at the time.”
Felicity added: “Razzamataz has remained true to their original mission to enrich the lives of young people through the power of performing arts and we are delighted to be able to bring all of this to Romford.”
Students looking to join the school, aged between four and 18, can sign up for a free taster session by emailing romfordandhornchurch@razzamataz.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here