This month sees Bath take a major step forward in its nurturing of young people who want to make a career in musical theatre.

The newly formed Bath Academy of Musical Theatre is now offering a special one year foundation course in an effort to provide an important link between what is available for youngsters at school and local theatre groups and a training at one of the country's top theatre schools.

The two people behind the new academy are two of the most experienced and respected members on the music and theatre scene in the west country.

Tim King studied music at Oxford Brookes University and Bath Spa University and is an experienced conductor and perofrmer crossing over various musical styles. One of his best known ventures was the founding of the popular Vocal Works Gospel Choir.

Rob Hickmore, also from Bath, studied voice and performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama taking to the stage as a performer. He now teaches on the musical theatre degree courses at Arts Eductional School in London working with young people who go on to perform in the West End.

The academy was launched with a singing masterclass with world respected singing teacher Mary Hammond at the Guildhall earlier this month.

The next step is for auditons to be held for the course and those will be on June 27 at the new and luxurious Hayesfield School Performing Arts Suite.

To audition this month applicants must be aged 16 or over when the course begins. Candidates are being asked to prepare the following to be performed from memory: two contrasting musical theatre songs and one monologue.

There is a non-refundable audition fee of £20 and application forms are available by emailing admin@ba-mt.com.

Starting in September course sessions are held in Bath on Monday and Thursday evenings. The course is designed so that students can continue with their daytime studies at college/school or employment, while getting the necessary training from experienced performing arts lecturers and practitioners.

Training will be given in solo and ensemble singing, individual sessions on musical theatre repertoire, acting and monologues, acting through song, ballet and jazz.

Students will have the chanceto take the Trinity College London Diploma in Musical Theatre at Associate Level. This is a nationally recognised NQF Level 4 qualification which is the equivalent to the first year of a degree course.

It is anticipated that graduates from the academy will go on to full time courses at drama and musical theatre schools or employment in the performing arts world.

An important part of the sessions will be the fact that tutors and regular guests will be people who are actively involved in the world of show business most importantly appearing on London and provincial stages allowing students to get first hand knowledge of the world they are hoping to enter.

Joining Tim and Bob will be Dan Winter (head of acting) who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has gone to perform professionally on the stage and on TV.

Tracy King is in charge of Jazz Dance and Kim Jones will teach ballet.

Bob points out that at first glance the course fees of £1,500 a year look quite steep but he says that if that is worked out over a year it works out at only around £20 a session which contrasts well with the £30 plus an hour that a student would need for singing, dance and drama.

The weekly timetable 30 minutes individual lessons in singing technique, 15 minues for repertoire and one hour of ensemble singing. There is one hour of voice and speech traing and one hour of acting through song.

There is one hour of ballet technique barre exersises as well as one hour of Jazz technique, routines and audition preparation.