Forget English and maths - going to school is now about juggling, mime and showing off your street skills.

At least it will be for students on a new course in Street Arts Performance at City College Brighton and Hove.

They will become the first in the country to take the subject when it starts running in September and will even earn a Foundation Degree, linked to the college's Performing and Visual Arts department.

The course covers all types of outdoor performances, including carnivals, street theatre, installations and spectaculars.

The college announced its launch this week to coincide with the Brighton Festival and Fringe, which has featured some of the world's best street performers.

A spokesman said: "Students will be developing their skills through working with practitioners in events such as Brighton Festival and Fringe Festivalís outdoor programme in a range of different capacities.

"As well as the creative aspects of the work, students will also gain skills in relation to business and legal affairs and how to find and sustain employment opportunities."

He said outdoor arts events were an important part of Brighton and Hoveís culture and one where the city excelled.

The Brighton and Hove Arts Commission commissioned a report on outdoor arts events in 2006. Among their list of recommendations was that the commission should support the development of accredited training for site specific and street arts.

It said part of the intention was to improve the quality and maximise the potential of the city's artistic community, so it could make the most of the opportunities created by a year-round calendar of annual events and the upcoming cultural Olympiad ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.

Donna Close, Brighton and Hove Arts Commissionís Arts Development Manager, said: ìWe are extremely pleased that City College has seized the initiative in designing a course that will help produce a new generation of artists creating high-quality work in the public realm.î The course may help to revive the Streets of Brighton which was cancelled this year because of funding difficulties.

The colourful annual event staged during the festival featured dozens of performers entertaining crowds around the city.

It will be the latest in a range of quirky courses run around Sussex, including adventure education at the University of Chichester and equine sports performance at the University of Brighton.