An independent liberal arts school for the 21st century.

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The Margate School (TMS) is an independent not-for-profit postgraduate arts school, based in and for Margate. TMS offers the first Accredited European Fine Art Masters programme in the UK. We offer an alternative to traditional didactic teaching at mainstream universities, we focus on project based collaborative outcomes. Our studios represent an extension of our teaching provision, providing not only space for growing businesses, but technical support and advice, in tandem with our growing technical and prototyping facilities; this type of supported workspace provision exists nowhere else in Thanet. We are rooted in our community; we reach out through events, workshops, talks and exhibitions. Much of our provision is subsidised in support of Margate and its diverse creative and wider communities. We have been able to do this through public grants, private sponsorship and support, income generated independently, additional time and effort offered by staff and volunteers as well as collaborating with a range of partners. The ambition is to become a fully operational and independently sustainable creative learning and knowledge hub working with industry on the one hand and supporting the local diverse communities of Margate on the other. 

Our external examiner Dr Rebekka Kill commented:

“I can confidently say that the pedagogic approach that has been developed is unique in the UK. There are a number of factors here that constitute significant innovation. Specifically, the incredible space that has been created; that is flexible, inclusive of stakeholders, public artists and students. This has, and will, have an important impact on the local and regional community, providing opportunities that were not previously available in this area. This space allows professional practice and education to co-exist symbiotically in a way that constitutes best practice and creates the ideal context for genuinely advanced practice”.