Mark Featherstone-Witty had been inspired by Alan Parker's 1980s film Fame to create a secondary school specialising in the performing arts.

By the time he started trying to raise money through the School for Performing Arts Trust (SPA), he had refined a novel integrated curriculum.

As it happened, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) were concerned with home taping and realised they had no political influence to bring the necessary pressure to bear.

[8] The school was founded in 1991 under the auspices of the City Technology Colleges (CTC) initiative with sponsorship from the British Record Industry Trust (BRIT).

A 2011 BBC News article discussed whether students who are accepted by the school get an unfair advantage in creative arts industries over those who did not.