Hard Work
Beats
Talent!!!
We don’t just help you become art directors and copywriters – we shape you into amazing Ideapreneurs, industry leading Art Directors and Copywriters.
Looking to spend a few years messing about with your mates, and then coming out with a certificate that you hope will get you a job doing, er, whatever?
Don’t apply.
It might seem strange for a school to open its pitch by suggesting that you don’t apply. But it’s not odd for us. Because at SCA, the traditional rules of further education (you guessed it) simply don’t apply.
When Marc Lewis persuaded the advertising industry to back him in reinventing John Gillard’s much missed School of Communication Arts in 2010, he was driven by a burning desire to offer something better than the traditional university model.
When Marc Lewis persuaded the advertising industry to back him in reinventing John Gillard’s much missed School of Communication Arts in 2010, he was driven by a burning desire to offer something better than the traditional university model.
Because, while universities are ideal for developing certain disciplines, they are far from the best places for those pursuing a vocation – i.e. the next generation of copywriters, art directors and creative technologists that the industry desperately needs to keep it fresh, vibrant and relevant.
The most awarded ad school in the world
+100
Agencies in support
+1000
Industry leaders in our network
+80%
Alumni land their dream role within 6 months of graduation
So, SCA was reborn with a mandate to seek out the best creative talent, nurture them, cajole them, and inspire them to be the next advertising superstars.
We look absolutely everywhere to seek out that talent.
We’re totally committed to inclusivity, we offer scholarships and bursaries to ensure our learning model is accessible to everyone, not just a financially privileged few. And because we are on a mission to improve the industry’s historically dreadful diversity statistics, you can rest assured that absolutely everyone is welcome to come and join our family.
School of Communication Arts 2.0 is a portfolio school, supported by over 100 of the top agencies, who donate money to fund scholarships, send staff along to mentor, and more often than not, do both. Typically, over a third of each cohort benefits from industry funded assistance.
We run a 12-month intensive course (in fact, don’t think of it as a course, think of it as an apprenticeship, because that‘s what it really is). Students on our London course are in the studio every day from 9 to 5. Students on our Online course have more flexibility in their schedule, but what is true for both groups is that they’ll spend most of their waking hours thinking about or working on SCA projects – taught by both experienced faculty members, and a network of over 1,000 industry mentors.
They do that not because they are forced to, but because they know that good is the enemy of great. And to be great, you’ve got to put in the hard yards.
They work on both portfolio briefs and live briefs, set by the agencies that support us – which means it’s not unusual for our students to sell work to clients before they have even finished the course. We aim to ensure that everyone leaves us not only with a portfolio of work that will secure them the job they’ve been dreaming of, but also with the personal skills and can-do attitude that makes them a pleasure to have around.
And we’re pleased to say that over 80% of our alumni secure a job at a top 100 agency within six months of finishing the course. So, we are looking for passionate creatives, artists, writers, oddballs, misfits, dreamers, and schemers.
If any of those terms apply to you, please do apply.
Not for us dreary red brick or concrete blocks set on the outskirts of town. We prefer to be where the real action is.
So you’ll find us the hustle and bustle of Brixton – a location that means, as well as being perfectly placed to develop relationships with local businesses and help the local community, we are just a 20 minute trip away from the creative hubs of Soho and Shoreditch. And seconds away from a great lunch.
You won’t just find SCA’s learning model different to any other school you’ve experienced, you’ll find our choice of location rather different too.
And there’s a lecture theatre where students (and even creatively inclined local residents) can attend talks from some of the biggest names and most inspirational speakers from the ad business and beyond. (We’re proud to have welcomed film makers, photographers, musicians, comedians, authors, philosophers and all sorts).
