How does Escape Studios work?

Escape Studios

How does Escape Studios work? We are a part of Pearson College London (PCL), which is in turn owned by Pearson, a FTSE 100 Company, with a long history dating back to the 1840s, but which today focuses mainly on education.

PCL is however a separate legal entity from Pearson. We are a non-profit organisation, and our independence is very important to our operation as an academic community.

Anne Morrison, chair of Governing Body

Governing Body
At the top of our hierarchy at PCL is Governing Body, which sets and approves our budget, our mission, our corporate strategy, and, ultimately, is in charge of what we do. It has a number of external members, including Chair Anne Morrison (former head of BAFTA), and Professor Ruth Farwell, who is Deputy Chair of the Governing Body.

Academic Board and Executive Board
Two committees report to Governing Body: Academic Board, which also has an external chair, and Executive Board, which is chaired by Roxanne Stockwell, our Principal.

Escape Studios' Committee Structure

REC and APRAC
Two committees report to Academic Board: The Review & Enhancement Committee (REC), which focuses on academic quality, and the Advancement, Progression and Retention Committee (APRAC), which focuses on the advancement and progression of our students.

School Board and SSLCs
Two committees report to the Review and Enhancement Committee: School Board and the Staff-Student Liason Committees (SSLCs). The SSLCs meet regularly to get formal feedback from our students. It's where the student representatives ("Reps") give voice to our students' concerns, and let us know how we can improve.

Each Committee has its own Terms of Reference, which determine who is on the committee and what it's responsibilities are. Having so many committees may sound bureaucratic, but having a logical committee structure lies at the heart of the proper functioning of any higher education institution.

Advisory Board
We also have a separate Advisory Board, which how we keep up to date with industry. Our advisory board is made of industry leaders like animation recruiter Shelley Page and animation producer Max Howard, as well as many other individuals drawn from the animation, games and VFX industries.

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our BA/MArt in 3D Animation, follow this link. To apply for our storyboarding evening class, visit this page here. For the next 12 week animation course, click here.