Чтение для 7-ых классов.

The Cool School

Love the arts? Fanatical about films? Mad about music? The Brit school just outside London in the UK is a place where lots of kids fulfil their greatest dreams.

If you want fame
When people ask you what you want to be in the future, they seem pleased if you say 'a doctor' or 'financial consultant'. But if you say 'an actor' or 'a dancer' or 'a DJ' they often laugh and say 'no chance!' The Brit School takes such ambitions seriously: everything is done to make sure talented kids fully explore their passion for the creative arts.
What you study there
The Brit School centres its studies on the performing arts. Singing, dancing, acting, music, theatre, TV and film production are all on the curriculum, as well as academic subjects like maths and English. The staff stress the importance of continuing academic studies. Students enter the school when they are 14 and 16. There is a strict selection process because there is a lot of competition for each place. Entrants at 14 have an interview, and at 16 there is also an audition. The procedure is tough because the school is Britain's only non fee-paying entertainment school.
Different from ordinary school
The main thing that makes the Brit School like other schools is that it takes academic study seriously. But in other ways, the atmosphere could not be more different. The teachers are called 'guides' and speak to the kids in a more informal way than many are used to. There are no uniforms and no bell at the end of the lesson. The school also makes sure that no one lives more than an hour away from the school so they don't get too tired. This is important because having lessons in radio production, theatre and video-recording as well as regular lessons is very hard work. The terms are eight weeks long, with 2-week breaks in between and only four weeks in the summer, so it involves much more attendance than an ordinary school.
How the kids feel about it 
Everyone who goes there is incredibly enthusiastic about it. Even though the school's curriculum and hours make it very demanding for them, they don't mind. Monique, 18, said she found it a bit strange at first because it was so unlike her old school. "Everyone seems so creative here so I don't stand out much. Everyone's an individual, independent and single-minded and we don't all wear the same sort of clothes." Most of the students are outgoing, and shy students say that being there makes them more confident.