Ella Shaw interview: “helping the next generation have a better life”
Ella Shaw's Academy of Arts is fully booked for the remainder of 2026, with a waiting list in place for 2027, as demand for its services continues to grow.
Following the exponential growth of Ella Shaw’s Academy of Arts, Ella Shaw is entering a fresh phase with her multi-award winning performing arts school.
Shaw, who began her singing career at 11-years-old, has performed in front of 21,000 people at the AO Arena with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, featured in the No.1 Album 50th Anniversary of Tubular Bells and starred as a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent, launched the Academy of Arts in January 2018, creating a pathway for her students to pursue their dreams. And for someone like Shaw, who is from the Ribble Valley area, there’s a level of authenticity to her teaching as her journey has proven that the aspirations of performing in stadiums/arenas and on national television can be achieved. Shaw’s hoping that she can pass down to the next generation.
“It’s just really nice for them to see that I succeeded so well in singing and then I'm succeeding so well in business now,” Shaw explained. “I really kind of broke the barriers of what I could achieve from 10 years of a singing career and singing all over the world and TV and big stadiums to building a business that's absolutely thriving in today's like day and age it's just incredible and I'm I am very proud that I can really help the next generation you know make a difference whatever that looks like to them,” Shaw finished.
2026 has been an emphatic success for Shaw, who held the Voices of the Future showcase at The Grand in Clitheroe on Sunday, October 18th, put on musicals such as ‘Annie’ and earned a nomination for the Young Entrepreneur Of The Year at the Enterprise Vision Awards. “When we had to do our presentation to the judges I really enjoyed the process more than anything because I had to reflect on what I'd actually achieved to then kind of present it to the judging panel as why my business should win the award,” Shaw explained when it came to reflecting on her nomination.
“I think the real prize to me and I posted something on my social media this week was that the win was actually getting there and what I've actually achieved. I was a finalist in the UK, which is incredible, but despite not winning, it was still such an incredible experience to be able to reflect on what I'd actually achieved. Sometimes I'm especially guilty of always focusing on the next thing and I'm such a very driven individual and I always have been. I mean, my career speaks volumes for that. but to really just stop for a minute and look back on what you've actually already achieved. I turn 30 in November and it's it's two decades now of incredible achievements.
“I was singing from the age of 11 on stage professionally and and then now I'm about to turn 30 and I've built a business and a career that some people would never build in a lifetime so I'm very proud of it, but I'm also very humble and I'm still hustling for the next the next goal,” Shaw finished.
The next goal is in sight
Shaw’s next goal is firmly in sight. Demand for the Academy of Arts’ services has grown to the stage that the school is fully booked up for the remainder of 2026 and there’s a waiting list in place for 2027 and from a personal standpoint, Shaw’s also returned to singing. Shaw is working with The Collective, a luxury entertainment company that provides high-end entertainment to events, weddings, private parties, corporate functions, and the global superyacht industry, providing her with the opportunity to pursue both of her passions. “It's so lovely to be back on stage again and feeling like I'm kind of moving into the next chapter where I get to have both,” Shaw said. “I have such an incredible team that runs the academy alongside me that they've then enabled me to be able to have the time to go on stage again and things are still running as normal,” she finished. However, Shaw has a second goal in mind for the Academy of Arts.
“We're hoping to open a second branch,” Shaw revealed. “We really want to expand what we offer. There's such a demand for our services and we've grown organically over the past five years and we now have waiting lists for everything. We have an inquiry nearly every day and so the goal for that is to open a second branch and then my core team will step into more of a management role and I will just make sure the business is running smoothly, dip my toes in and out and be able to balance that between singing.
“Knowing that my staff will then step up within the business and run two branches that's the plan. It doesn't always quite work out like that, I'm sure I'll be spinning some plates temporarily but I'm really passionate about what we've brought to the academy over the past 10 years. After COVID especially, we changed direction with the business and we became very firmly focused on health, well-being, individuals really getting a chance to shine, growing confidence and having a place that they could really express themselves and not be too structured.
“The main source of marketing for us is parents just talking so highly of what we offer and what we bring. We're then now ready to have another branch potentially in another area where we can reach even more young people that that are in desperate need for what we do offer we're moving into such an AI computers and screens are really going to be even bigger over the next 5-10 years that what we offer is only going to grow and become more and more in demand, so we really want to keep the business going while it's hot and make sure that we're helping the next generation of young people have a better life,” she finished.