A Norfolk performing arts college has welcomed proposed changes to the student finance system.

The government announced in last week’s Queen’s Speech that a "lifetime skills guarantee" will “transform the current student loans system, which will give every adult access to a flexible loan for higher-level education and training at university or college, usable at any point in their lives.”

Nichola West, director of the Norfolk Institute of Performing Arts (NIPA) said the changes were “a positive move forward”, recognising that “further education has greater opportunities than one traditional path.”

NIPA, based at Busybodies Stage School in Dereham, was founded last year and trains students both in the arts and how to teach them - as well as equipping students with legal and business knowledge, and even how to pay self-employment tax.

Auditions for NIPA’s September 2021 and 2022 intakes will resume in June and run until July. NIPA has four to six places left for 2021. Those interested in auditioning can visit: https://www.nipa.org.uk