New undergraduate UK students
Changes to Government funding from 2012
As a result of recent changes in Government funding to higher education, the Conservatoire faces a considerable reduction in its teaching grant from 2012. In order to continue to offer the world-class level of training and facilities for which our schools are renowned, we are charging new students £9,000 per year for all undergraduate programmes. The Conservatoire will continue to subsidise the full cost of its vocational programmes.
We have also put in place an extensive financial support package to ensure that we continue to admit the most talented students, irrespective of background.
If you are new to higher education, remember you will not have to pay anything up front.
Tuition fees
The Conservatoire’s tuition fees for all new UK undergraduate students will be £9,000 per year for entry in 2012-13*. This applies only to students starting a course in 2012.
If you have already started your course, visit the course fees (current students) and financial support (current students) pages for more information.
*This may rise in subsequent years in line with inflation.
If you are new to higher education, you will not have to pay anything upfront and you may be entitled to a discount on your fees. You may also be entitled to financial support from the affiliate schools.
Government grants and loans
If you are an English domiciled student and this is your first degree you can apply for financial support from Student Finance England.
You can apply for:
- A tuition fee loan
- A maintenance loan (to help with living costs)
- An income-assessed maintenance grant (non-repayable)
Remember you will need to reapply for each year of your training.
Tuition fee loan
If you are new to higher education you can apply for a loan from Student Finance England (or equivalent) to cover the full cost of your fees. You do not have to pay anything upfront.
Maintenance loan
All English students can apply for a basic student loan to help with living costs, no matter what their household income. The table below shows what you may be entitled to:
| Living at home | Up to £4,375 |
| Living away from home – outside London | Up to £5,500 |
| Living away from home – in London | Up to £7,675 |
Maintenance grant
Students with a household income of up to £42,875 can receive a non-repayable maintenance grant in addition to a maintenance loan.
Students with a household income of £25,000 or less can receive the full grant of £3,250 per year of study.
Students with a household income of between £25,001 and £42,875 can receive a partial grant of between £50 and £3,250.
If you are an English domiciled student and this is your first degree you can apply for financial support from Student Finance England.
You can apply for:
·A tuition fee loan
·A maintenance loan (to help with living costs)
·An income-assessed maintenance grant (non repayable)
Remember you will need to reapply for each year of your training.
Tuition fee loan
If you are new to higher education you can apply for a loan from Student Finance England (or equivalent) to cover the full cost of your fees. You do not have to pay anything upfront.
Maintenance loan
All English students can apply for a basic student loan to help with living costs, no matter what their household income. The table below shows what you may be entitled to:
|
Living at home |
Up to £4,375 |
|
Living away from home – outside London |
Up to £5,500 |
|
Living away from home – in London |
Up to £7,675 |
Maintenance grant
Students with a household income of up to £42,600 can receive a non-repayable maintenance grant in addition to a maintenance loan.
Students with a household income of £25,000 or less can receive the full grant of £3,250 per year of study. Students with a household income of between £25,001 and £42,600 can receive a partial grant of between £50 and £3,250.
Student Finance England
For more information and to apply for financial support, visit the Student Finance England website:
Have a look at the student calculator to estimate your loan entitlement:
Students from Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales
If you are a student from Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales you can apply for financial support from the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government or the Northern Ireland Executive.
For students from Northern Ireland, go to:
www.studentfinanceni.co.uk
For students from Scotland, go to:
www.saas.gov.uk
For students from Wales*, go to:
www.studentfinancewales.co.uk
*If you are a Welsh domiciled student, you can get a tuition fee loan of up to £3,465 and a tuition fee grant which will pay the balance of the full tuition fees up to a maximum of £9,000 – this does not have to be paid back.
How do loan repayments work?
If you take out a tuition fee loan and/or a maintenance loan from Student Finance England, you will not have to repay anything until after you have graduated and are earning a minimum salary.
Key facts about repayments:
- You won’t repay anything until you are earning £21,000
- You will only repay 9% of what you earn above £21,000, i.e. if you earn £25,000, you will repay 9% of £4,000, which works out as £30 per month
- After 30 years, the debt is written off
- If you never earn over £21,000 you will never pay anything back
- Student loans are not recorded on your credit rating file, i.e. this should not impact on your ability to get a mortgage
The table below gives examples of what your repayments might look like:
| Earnings | Annual repayment | Monthly repayment |
| £15,000 | Nothing | Nothing |
| £21,000 | Nothing | Nothing |
| £22,000 | £90 | £7.50 |
| £25,000 | £360 | £30 |
| £30,000 | £810 | £67.50 |
| £40,000 | £1,710 | £142.50 |
| £50,000 | £2,610 | £217.50 |
The MoneySavingExpert website has a very useful summary of how student loans work.
Conservatoire Scholarships
The Conservatoire offers a range of scholarships in the form of fee discounts, which means your debt after graduating will be reduced. See the table below for details of what the scholarships are worth and who is eligible. You can also download the table as a PDF:
Download a table of Conservatoire Scholarships
Download criteria for National Scholarship Programme awards
How do I apply for a scholarship?
If you wish to be considered for a Conservatoire Scholarship, you need to indicate as appropriate on your application form to the school/s. You then need to complete an application to Student Finance England (or its equivalent) as early as possible in order to be income assessed. This will allow the Conservatoire to assess what level of support you may be entitled to.
You can apply to Student Finance for income assessment even if you are not eligible for a loan, or do not wish to apply for a loan. Scholarships awarded on the basis of talent will be allocated by the schools and all eligible students will be considered.
You may be eligible to receive more than one Scholarship. The maximum amount of fee discount you can receive is £4,000 per year for each year of training.
Interim income assessment form
If you apply to a Conservatoire school, you may be asked to complete an interim income assessment form (see below). This will help us to provide you with provisional information about any financial package for which you may be eligible. Where possible, we are trying to let all applicants to whom we offer a place know whether they will be entitled to a fee discount, and what the minimum discount would be, before they accept.
CDD INCOME ASSESSMENT FORM 2012-13 (PDF)
CDD INCOME ASSESSMENT FORM 2012-13 (Word)
You do not need to complete the interim form unless you are requested to do so by the schools. You will still need to apply to Student Finance England or equivalent for income assessment.
*Please note that students from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not eligible for the National Scholarship Programme. This is because the authorities in these countries will have their own financial support in place.
| Scholarship | Who is eligible | How it is allocated | How to apply | What it’s worth | How many available |
| National Scholarship Programme | Students who meet the following criteria:
|
Awarded on basis of talent, with priority to: low income, disabled students, looked after children/care leavers, travellers, refugees and those in certain ethnic minority groups | Income assessment through Student Finance or Conservatoire means testing and through audition/interview | Discount of £3,000 per year for each year of training | 30 across the eight schools |
| Means tested fee discounts | All UK and EU undergraduate students who are new to HE | Household income less than £25,000 | Income assessment through Student Finance or Conservatoire means testing | Discount of £1,000 per year for each year of training | All eligible students |
| All UK and EU undergraduate students who are new to HE | Household income £25,001 – £42,600 | Income assessment through Student Finance or Conservatoire means testing | Discount of up to £1,000 per year per year for each year of training | All eligible students | |
| Additional fee discount | Students who meet the following criteria:
|
Awarded on basis of talent | Income assessment through Student Finance or Conservatoire means testing and through audition/interview | Discount of up to £2,000 per year for each year of training | Discretionary |
| Sir Bob Reid Scholarship | All UK/EU students on all undergraduate programmes | Awarded on basis of talent | Judgement in first year of training | Discount of £3,000 per year in the second and third years of study | 8 (one at each Conservatoire school) |
| Talent and need based scholarships | All UK/EU students on all undergraduate programmes | Awarded on basis of talent and exceptional need | Income assessment and/or audition/interview | Discount of up to a maximum of £4,000 per year for each year of training | Discretionary |
| Care leaver bursary | Meets definition of a care leaver: “any 18 – 21 year old (or until the end of an agreed programme of education or training) who has been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and who is still looked after or recently left care.” | Awarded to all eligible students | Self-identify as a care leaver on the application form and/or on the enrolment form when you start your course | Bursary of £750 per year for each year of training | All eligible students |
Support from the schools
The affiliate schools may offer their own bursary schemes and support in addition to that offered by the Conservatoire. The links below will take you to the relevant section of each school’s website:
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
www.oldvic.ac.uk/student-bursaries
Central School of Ballet
www.centralschoolofballet.co.uk/sscosts.php
Circus Space
www.circusspace.co.uk
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
www.lamda.org.uk/drama/funding
London Contemporary Dance School
www.lcds.ac.uk/fees
www.lcds.ac.uk/bursaries
Northern School of Contemporary Dance
www.nscd.ac.uk
Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance
www.rambertschool.org.uk/funding
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
www.rada.ac.uk/courses-at-rada/acting-and-performance
www.rada.ac.uk/courses-at-rada/production-and-design
Useful links
For further information about applying to university, you may find it useful to visit some of the sites listed below:
Tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and maintenance grants
Student Finance England – homepage
www.direct.gov.uk
Student Finance Northern Ireland
www.studentfinanceni.co.uk
Student Finance Scotland (SAAS)
www.saas.gov.uk
Student Finance Wales www.studentfinancewales.co.uk
Student Finance England for EU students
www.direct.gov.uk
A video on how to apply for Student Finance
www.direct.gov.uk
Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) – how to apply
www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/EducationAndTraining/HigherEducation
Dance and Drama Council
Council for Dance Education and Training
www.cdet.org.uk
National Council for Drama Training
www.ncdt.co.uk
Guidance on student finance
Brightknowledge.org – a video explaining student finance from 2012
www.brightknowledge.org
The Brightside Trust – provides information for prospective students and parents
www.thebrightsidetrust.org/students
Moneysavingexpert.com – Martin Lewis’s 20 key facts on student fees and loans
www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes
Student Calculator – this website helps you work out a budget for during your studies
www.studentcalculator.org.uk
Studential.com – provides in-depth information about going to university and the application process
www.studential.com
Other funding resources
Access to Learning Fund – hardship fund for students experiencing financial difficulty
www.direct.gov.uk
Professional and Career Development Loans – for students studying for a second degree
www.direct.gov.uk
Educational Grants Services – identifies funding from charitable trusts for educational purposes
www.direct.gov.uk
Grants For Individuals – a directory of organisations which offer grants
www.grantsforindividuals.org.uk
Turn To Us – a directory of organisations which offer grants
www.turn2us.org.uk
FAQs
If you have further queries about fees and finance or about applying to the Conservatoire, you may like to visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
