Talented students had a reason to celebrate as their theatre school hit a milestone birthday.

Established by principal Sam Fraser in 1999, Stagecoach Performing Arts, Dorchester, trains children aged four to eighteen in singing, dancing and drama, and has been operating from its venue at Dorchester Middle School on Saturdays ever since.

More than a thousands students have passed through its classes and its summer holiday workshops in that time and many of them are enjoying successful careers in the arts.

Sam said: “All sorts of children gain huge amounts from our theatre skills training. Some children need help to build confidence, others need to develop their social and interpersonal skills. For those children for whom the stage is a vocational calling, Stagecoach is a natural home where they can explore their abilities and build their stagecraft among like-minded individuals.

“We are proud to send our students in to the world able to walk tall and present themselves fearlessly.”

In its 18 years, Stagecoach Dorchester, has had countless performance successes, including three tours as the choir supporting Bill Kenwright’s, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at Weymouth Pavilion.

The school has also provided young performers for Ellen Kent Opera productions such as Turandot and La Boheme and singers for BBC’s Children in Need.

Individual achievements include youngsters taking roles in the national tours of Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang and The Sound of Music.

13-year-old Jordan Bosher starred in the original cast revival of Oliver in the West End with Rowan Atkinson. And one recent graduate, 18-year-old Imogen Gray, will be off to London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in September to begin her foundation training.

“The careers our students have gone into are as diverse as they are multitudinous,” says Sam.

“We have Stagecoach graduates performing in the West End, lots of dancers of all disciplines and singer-songwriters working here and abroad.

“One of my first students is the principal of her own theatre school now. And we have one former student, Charlie Coombes, working as a TV comedy and drama producer. Being able to play a tiny part in setting them on their career paths is enormously rewarding. But we are every bit as proud of the child who is able to leave us knowing that they can stand up in front of an audience or an interview panel and address them with confidence. It’s being an amazing eighteen years. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing.”