Last week I attended the opening of the Jackie Palmer Stage School’s new premises in Bridge Street in High Wycombe. There were several reasons I enjoyed the evening.

The official opening of the excellent new facility was performed by their ex-student James Corden, whose gently self-effacing speech for me hit the nail absolutely on the head about what the study of drama, dance and singing is all about. He spoke very movingly about how he had been transformed as a young boy by his time at the school. Even though he has subsequently become a very successful actor and entertainer, the most important thing for him then was finding something that he could do and sharing exploration of that with other likeminded folk.

This is, of course, not the only area that offers that. I am aware of that. Sport, for instance, offers precisely the same opportunity, without necessarily leading to a career in football or cricket. It is the participation in the activity that has intrinsic worth.

It was delightful to see the choir of young students performing with such freedom and joy, every one of them smiling and showing every sign of relishing their various roles. The confidence that the study of the performing arts brings is sufficient return on the investment of time and energy because it is a quality that can be transferred into every aspect of modern life. Confidence is so important. I am not talking about arrogance, about thinking you’re better than everyone else or worse – saying that you are. I am talking about that quiet confidence that says you are no more nor less worthy than those around you and that your voice is worthy of being heard. I know that ethos is shared by the staff at Jackie Palmer, which is why it has been successful over the years and enabled the school to finally acquire its own premises.

The worth of drama and performance studies is something too that I hope schools do not forget. Drama as a syllabus subject is not a luxury. It is almost uniquely a subject that can impact and enable other subjects to be explored in a different and more subjective way. Literature, Geography and History are obvious examples. Again it is not about training young actors. It is about enabling the exploration of what it is to be human being – and isn’t that what education ought to be about?