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t’s already been a busy day for Reece Donnelly when he calls me just after lunchtime. The night before, he was on the star-studded red carpet as an attendee at The Brits. This morning, he was interviewing dinner ladies before heading into the office for some afternoon calls. Clearly Reece wears a lot of hats, but it’s evident that his business, Theatre School of Scotland – a performing arts training facility for children – remains at the centre of everything. The business launched in 2017, when Reece was just 20 years old. Since then, it’s opened three sites in Glasgow (the country’s head office), Edinburgh, and Greenock. It’s opening a site in Cheshire later this year, before entering the franchise arena, with an aggressive recruitment drive across the UK. Franchising is the latest in several efforts from Reece to grow the brand at scale. Last year, he was one of the candidates on BBC’s The Apprentice , hoping to land his business plan in front of Lord Alan Sugar. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite make it, bowing out on health grounds (which means technically he wasn’t fired). But the exposure has nevertheless proven fruitful. “For me it was the perfect platform,” says Reece. “I was getting put through these tasks but I was getting to sell my business every episode. We had 10 million viewers every Thursday night for eight weeks, which for me, was just amazing. I think that’s something that will stay with the brand for years.” MORE THAN A THEATRE SCHOOL Theatre School of Scotland has a comprehensive teaching programme – one that arguably transcends what’s typically considered to be the performing arts offering in the franchise space. “A lot of people think that we run small dance classes at church halls on a Saturday morning, and that just isn’t the case,” says Reece. The business positions itself as I INTERVI EW 50 WHAT FRANCHISE | ISSUE 19.3