Anna Glynn is on a mission — to provide a friendly, comfortable and nurturing environment for budding young actors and actresses. Chatting to her over a cup of coffee, I can see that this is something she feels strongly about, and her views have been shaped by her own experiences as a drama student and professional actress.

Local audiences might remember an Oxford Theatre Guild production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia back in 1999, in which a 16-year-old Anna played the role of Thomasina and received rave reviews for her performance in this paper.

She went on to study at the Guildhall School of Acting, where she won the acting prize and the Michael Redgrave Scholarship, and has since performed in the West End and on tour with major theatre companies.

But now the former Cherwell School pupil has returned to the city to set up the Oxford Academy of Performing Arts (OAPA) for eight- to 18-year-olds, along with partner Robin Colyer, also a successful actor and dancer.

“We put our heads together and talked about these great experiences we had when we were young and helped develop our idea of what theatre should be, what it should offer the audience and what it should offer the actor,” she tells me. “And we thought, now is the time to do this.

“I had so much support and enthusiasm from people in Oxford, particularly the Oxford Theatre Guild. That’s the main reason for coming back to Oxford, really. It’s a way to appreciate what an exciting city it is, and how everywhere you go there are posters advertising the creative things people are doing. I think it’s just a great time to be here.”

Some less than happy memories of her student days have made Anna determined to offer something different through the OAPA.

“I felt quite bullied at times,” she recalls. “I was barked at, and one singing teacher slammed the piano lid and shouted at me, ‘you sound like a trumpet!’. I was absolutely mortified and I’m not entirely convinced I’ve ever recovered.

“The reason people perform is because it’s nourishing. It’s nourishing for the people watching the performance, the process of bringing something together should be nourishing, and the opportunity to express yourself publicly should be fantastic for you. It shouldn’t be bullying or shouting.”

The new academy launches on September 18, and will offer three ten-week terms throughout the year, with a performance during the 11th week.

At the end of the first term, students will put on a Christmas cabaret. A full-scale production of Bugsy Malone, at Radley College, follows at the end of the second term and in the final term they will put on a short film festival, ending with an Oscar night.

A distinctive aspect of the OAPA is that classes and rehearsals are held as completely separate sessions, with a break between.

“Our feeling is that the learning shouldn’t be pressurised with the need to produce something,” explains Anna. “They’re very different disciplines. Learning is one thing, and the discipline of rehearsing is entirely different. They shouldn’t be confused.

“You need, when you’re learning, the freedom to get things wrong. In fact, it’s good to get things wrong, in order to understand that feeling of what is good, what works and what doesn’t work so well.

“Then in rehearsal, that’s where their hard work — learning lines, remembering steps, remembering song lyrics and having the confidence to do things in front of people — can build.

“So, we do ten weeks of very distinct sections of preparation. And we move through all the genres to reflect the different interests they might have.”

The academy is based at Oxford High School in North Oxford. To get a taste of what’s on offer, there’s an open activity morning on Saturday, to which everybody is welcome.

“It’s an opportunity for parents and their children who may be prospective students to come and have a look. There’ll be tea and delicious cakes, which is always helpful!

“Most importantly, the teachers will be providing condensed 20-minute classes that parents can observe, and that children can have a go at.

“Following that there will be a brief presentation by me, explaining to parents how we work, what our objectives are, what our approach to learning and teaching is, and giving an outline of how the school year will look and how the daily programme will look.

“We’re committed to harbouring a sense of community, of collaborative working, of people’s ideas, thoughts and suggestions being welcomed. And we want there to be a sense of having fun.

“At the Oscar night we’re going to celebrate how much learning and fun we’ve had, and we’re going to congratulate them, because that’s what we want them to take away from it.”

lFor more information about the Oxford Academy of Performing Arts visit theoapa.com