A ground breaking programme aimed at young people at risk of exclusion from school, who undertake a two-year course to gain two BTEC qualifications in Performing Arts and Dance (equivalent to four GCSE’s). This programme has been held up as model of best practice in the 2005 Government White Paper on 14-19 Education and Skills. The Acting Out course allows those who are disenfranchised with the traditional academic environment to thrive in an alternative learning environment. The excellent results achieved by the programme were demonstrated in July 2008 when 17% of the participants received a Distinction* in Dance and 36% were awarded a Distinction* in Drama. In all 86% of students achieved a BTEC first Certificate. 312 pupils were excluded from Coventry schools in 2006 with 12 being permanently excluded. (Coventry City Council, Public Report 7, 28 Feb 2007) As it is widely accepted that exclusion can seriously affect a young person’s future success, this statistic demonstrates the need for preventative methods to reduce the number of students who are removed from mainstream education. . The success of the Acting Out programme can, in part, be measured by the fact that none of the participants, since the course began in 1998, have been excluded from school.