The Anna Scher Theatre is an independent and co-educational performing arts school based in Islington, Greater London. It was founded in 1968 by Anna Scher. It is considered among the first schools of its kind geared towards working class students. Anna Scher Anna Valerie Scher, , was born on 26 December 1944 in Cork, Ireland, to Irish Jewish parents, Claire Hurwitz, and Eric Asher Scher, a dentist of Lithuanian descent. After starting out as an actress, her father told her to get a proper job, so she became a journalist specialising in theatre with the Islington Gazette for five years, and reviewed for The Times Literary Supplement. Scher's philosophy is based on promoting love, peace and understanding through both learning and professionalism. Her heroes are Martin Luther King Jr., Anne Frank, Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill. She frequently shares with her pupils various meaningful words or sayings which she calls Winston words after Churchill, but which are not necessarily attributed to him. In the past, Scher was chairperson of the International Song Contest for Peace also in Ireland, and served on the juries at BAFTA, the Sony Awards and the Royal Television Society. As an actress, she appeared in The Battle of St. George Without (1969), You Must Be Joking! (1974) and Anna (2011). Scher is married to Charles Verrall, an acting and public speaking coach who has also written and directed several stage plays and a musical. He was co-director of the Anna Scher Theatre for many years, and co-authored several of Scher's books on acting. They have one son. Since founding the school in 1968, Scher has been awarded: Community award from the Irish Post Woman of Distinction Award from Jewish Care Peace Person of the Year Award, Ireland, 1999 Associate of RADA Honorary Fellow of the Leinster School of Music & Drama Patron of Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam – Oasis of Peace. Freedom of the London Borough of Islington, March 2003. Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), 2013, appointed in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to Drama. Theatre school In 1968, Scher started an extracurricular performing arts school at Islington's Ecclesbourne Primary School. 70 pupils came the first week, including future Birds of a Feather stars Pauline Quirke (aged 9), Linda Robson (aged 10) and Ray Burdis (aged 11). In 1970, the classes moved across the road to a council hall