ArtsEd: Two More Trustees Quit Andrew Lloyd Webber-Backed Drama School Amid Bullying Crisis
18.01.2024 - 11:21
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: ArtsEd has lost another two board members after Deadline exposed bullying and misconduct allegations at the prestigious London drama school.
Simon Dowson-Collins, general counsel at Rupert Murdoch’s publishing firm HarperCollins UK, and London Metropolitan University executive Jennifer Wilkinson have stepped down as trustees.
They were appointed in June 2022, meaning they only served for a year and a half on the ArtsEd board. Under UK charity rules, trustees can be in place for nine years or more.
Their exit coincides with the departure of Brian Brodie, who resigned as chairman in December for personal reasons. It followed criticism of the board’s handling of the bullying allegations.
Dowson-Collins and Wilkinson did not respond to a request for comment and the reasons for their departure are unclear.
An ArtsEd spokesperson said: “We have ten trustees serving the institution and managing all the necessary day to day responsibilities. We are in the process of choosing a firm to engage in recruiting trustees and a new chair, and we will be updating stakeholders about that process in the coming weeks.”
In November, Deadline uncovered bullying and misconduct allegations against ArtsEd principal Julie Spencer. ArtsEd initially brushed off the concerns, but as anger grew among employees and parents, the performing arts school was forced to launch an independent, barrister-led inquiry.
After ArtsEd committed to the inquiry, Deadline published further allegations, including audio evidence of Spencer branding students “snakes” and appearing to threaten them with legal action after being accused of favoritism.
Ghazaleh Rezaie, the senior attorney engaged to investigate the allegations, is expected to report back to