Mount Street in Liverpool’s city centre is where you’ll find the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a higher education institution with an unusual origin story. The building itself was once the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys – the school Paul McCartney attended as a young man. By 1985, McCartney was aware the site had fallen into increasing disrepair following the school’s closure, and he was determined to find a worthwhile use for it. Record producer George Martin introduced McCartney to Mark Featherstone-Witty, who had already established the Brit School in London and was seeking a similar project in another city. The two men combined their ambitions, and after seven years of preparation and £20 million in costs, LIPA came into being. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the institution on 7 June 1996.
Growth and Recognition
LIPA was designated a higher education institution (HEI) in 2006, the same year it marked its tenth anniversary with a performance at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Among performing arts HEIs in the UK, LIPA attracts the highest number of international students, and it is the only UK higher education institution to have been awarded the Gold Standard from Investors in People. The Education Guardian has previously ranked LIPA first in the UK for several of its degree programmes, and it regularly appears among the top ten specialist institutions nationally. A 2017 survey of students who graduated in 2014 found that 91% were in employment, with 83% of those working within the performing arts. LIPA is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In March 2012, LIPA purchased the former Liverpool College of Art building for £3.7 million to expand its teaching space, with construction completed in August 2016.
Courses and Community Reach
The institution offers 20 full-time BA (Hons) degrees across the performing arts, three Foundation Certificate programmes in acting and popular music, and full-time one-year master’s-level courses in Acting and Costume Design and Making. Beyond its degree provision, LIPA launched a part-time performing arts academy in September 2003 – known as LIPA 4-19 – catering to young people aged four to nineteen. Under the Free School programme, LIPA opened a primary school nearby in 2014 and a sixth form free college in September 2016, though the school is due to close in August 2026. Rather than awarding honorary degrees as most British universities do, LIPA recognises notable individuals through its own system of “Companionships”.