Stagecoach CEO Sarah Kelly talks us through her highlights of 2018…

“Stagecoach Performing Arts was 30 years old on 9 April. To celebrate this special year we started by holding tea parties throughout the world at Stagecoach Schools, we also attempted a Guinness World Record on 1 July – with the most ever simultaneous performances of Beauty and the Beast Junior with 12,500 kids across four countries with nearly 200 schools, reaching an audience of 2.3 million through press, social media, Facebook live and TV appearances.

It’s been another year of spectacular student performance opportunities. The biggest ones being London Olympic Stadium event at the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match in March, with 60,000 people in attendance and 800 students singing their hearts out during halftime; 85 students took part in Footloose  – our Summer Showcase – which was streamed live on Facebook; we created a new Further Stages product with Disney Performing Arts called Behind The Magic in October and celebrated the talents of our network at our Annual Charity Gala featuring the first ever Creative Courage For Life Awards in December, where we also announced that we had raised £15,000 for YoungMinds.

We also won two awards this year which will help us with our B2B profile internationally – Brand Awareness of the Year with the British Franchise Association and most recently Most Improved Franchisor of the year award with the 2018 Best Franchise Awards.

We have had much to celebrate in our thirtieth year and the icing on the cake was becoming part of the Trafalgar Entertainment family …here’s to more excitement in 2019!”