The Stage

Parents establish scholarship in honour of Harry Potter actor Knox

Published Tuesday 22 September 2009 at 16:50 by Lalayn Baluch

The parents of Harry Potter actor Robert Knox, who was killed last year, have set up a scholarship fund that will enable an aspiring young performer to undertake a three-year musical theatre course at a south London school.

The scholarship will give a youngster aged between 16 and 21 the chance to attend the training programme at D and B School of Performing Arts in Bromley, which costs £775 per term and gives students training in all aspects of performance.

Knox attended part-time classes at the school as a child and was represented by the agency attached to the organisation. He played the part of Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and was signed to appear in the forthcoming film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The 18-year-old actor died in May 2008, after being stabbed outside a bar in Sidcup, when he intervened in a fight to protect his younger brother Jamie. Following his death, his parents Sally and Colin established the Rob Knox Memorial Trust.

Bonnie Sullivan, who co-founded the school with her sister Donna more than two decades ago, said: “We are so grateful to the Rob Knox trust for supporting our college and giving a student the opportunity, that may not otherwise have been possible, to train with us for three years on a full scholarship.

“Rob had that special something that made him stand out from the crowd. We want to find that special something in a student, either a boy or girl, who will benefit from this generous donation.”

She said that the school would be looking for a performer with “raw talent”, rather than someone who had already received training. Auditions for the 2010 intake will run from November 24 until June, 2010.

Colin Knox told The Stage: “I thought it would be nice [to fund the scholarship] in Robert’s name, for someone who knows they have the talent but doesn’t have the funds to go through that three-year dream. We came up with this idea to make someone’s dream come true, and hopefully we can make someone very happy. I know it would have made Robert smile as well.”