Entry in 2020

In this section you will find information about tuition fees and financial support for higher education courses at the Conservatoire schools starting in 2020.

The Conservatoire schools are: Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Central School of Ballet, London Contemporary Dance School, National Centre for Circus Arts, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Rambert School.

Tuition fees

Home/EU Undergraduate Fees

The Universities Minister has announced that EU students starting a university programme in England in the 2020/21 academic year will have guaranteed home fee status and financial support for the duration of their course.

For the full statement (published 28 May 2019), visit the Gov UK website here.

The table below shows the fees the Conservatoire is charging for courses starting in September 2020.

New UK undergraduate students £9,250*

New EU undergraduate students £9,250*

UK/EU second degree undergraduate students £9,250*

Island students £9,250*

CertHE students £8,000*

*Subject to further increase in subsequent years in line with Government policy.

Note: For students paying Home/EU undergraduate fees who are new entrants to a course in 2020/21 or new entrants to a course in subsequent years, the course fees confirmed in your offer letter may be increased in further years of study by an inflationary amount determined in accordance with measures set by Government (currently the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast for RPI-X, being the retail price index, excluding mortgage interest payments). Any such increased fees will not exceed the fee cap current in respect of the relevant period.

If you are new to higher education, remember you will not have to pay anything upfront and you may be eligible for financial support from the Conservatoire. You may also be entitled to financial support from the Schools.

EEA and Swiss Fees

For students from the EEA and Switzerland, please visit the UKCISA website to check whether you are eligible for Home/EU fee status:

https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information–Advice/Fees-and-Money/England-fee-status#layer-6082

Students who are not eligible for Home/EU fee status will be charged an Overseas Fee.

Postgraduate and Overseas Fees

For information about tuition fees for postgraduate courses and overseas students, please contact the relevant school for the course you are interested in:

Student Finance

Student Finance is available to UK and EU undergraduate students new to HE.

UK Students

If you are an English domiciled student (i.e. you are usually resident in the UK) 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)

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 UK students who are new to HE can apply for a basic student loan to help with living costs. The table below shows the maximum allocation for the 2019-20 academic year. Allocations for 2020-21 will be announced by Student Finance later in the year.

Living at home (2019) Up to £7,529

Living away from home, outside London (2019) Up to £8,944

Living away from home, in London (2019) Up to £11,672

Maintenance loans are paid in three instalments at the start of each term, after you have registered with your school and with the Conservatoire.

EU Students

The government has announced that European Union students starting a university programme in England in the 2020/21 academic year will have guaranteed home fee status and financial support for the duration of their course. This means they will be charged the same tuition fees as UK students.

To read the full statement, visit the Gov UK website here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/eu-student-funding-continued-for-202021 (published 28 May 2019)

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.

If you are a new student from the EU, you will need to download an application pack to apply for Student Finance:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance

If you’re a continuing student you’ll be sent the application forms.

Maintenance loan

For students beginning study from August 2020, EU nationals must have been resident in the UK for at least 5 years or be EEA migrant workers in order to apply for a maintenance loan.

Apply for Student Finance

For more information, and to estimate your loan entitlement, visit the student finance pages of the Gov UK website. You will be able to apply for courses starting in 2020 when Student Finance opens later this year.

www.gov.uk/studentfinance

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

For EU students, go to:
www.gov.uk/student-finance/eu-students

How do loan repayments work?

If you take out a tuition fee loan and/or a maintenance loan from Student Finance England (or its equivalent), you will not have to repay anything until after you have graduated and are earning a minimum salary.

Key facts about repayments:

You will only repay 9% of what you earn above the repayment earnings threshold
Student loans are not recorded on your credit rating file.

The current repayment thresholds are £494 a week or £2,143 a month (before tax and other deductions). They change on 6 April every year.

For more information, visit the Student Finance page on repaying your student loan.

Master's Loan

A Master’s Loan is available for taught or research Master’s courses to help towards your fees and living costs.

You’ll be eligible if you:

are under 60
ordinarily live in England
don’t already have a master’s degree or higher qualification

The loan won’t depend on personal or family income.

If you’re an EU national, but don’t normally live in England you may be able to get a Master’s Loan for a Master’s course at a university or college in England.

If you’re studying for 2, 3 or 4 academic years, the loan will be divided equally across each year of your course. The loan will be paid into your bank account in three instalments during the academic year at the beginning of each term, once you have registered with your school and with the Conservatoire.

The maximum loan you can apply for is:

£10,906, if your course started on or after 1 August 2019
£10,609, if your course started between 1 August 2018 and 31 July 2019
£10,280, if your course started between 1 August 2017 and 31 July 2018

You will be able to apply for entry in 2020 when Student Finance opens later this year.

https://www.gov.uk/masters-loan

How do I repay my loan?

You have to repay any loan you borrow, but not until you’ve finished or left your course and your income is over £21,000 a year. Repayments will be based on your income, not what you borrow.

If you’re studying full time you’ll start making repayments the April after you finish or leave your course.

You’ll pay back 6% of your income over the minimum threshold, currently £404 a week, £1,750 a month or £21,000 a year.

What if I already have a student loan?

If you’ve had any other loans from the Student Loans Company for your undergraduate course, you’ll also repay these loans. For example if you took a loan for your undergraduate course that started after 1 September 2012, you’ll repay 9% of your income over the current threshold towards that loan and 6% of your income over the threshold towards your Postgraduate Loan. So you’ll repay 15% of your income over the threshold in total.

A student loan repayment will be taken even if you don’t earn above the threshold in a year but exceed the weekly or monthly threshold at any time, for example if you work overtime or get a bonus. Any loan remaining 30 years after you’re due to start making repayments will be written off.

For more information, visit the Student Finance page on repaying your student loan.

Conservatoire Scholarships

UK/EU Undergraduate Students

The Conservatoire offers scholarships in the form of bursaries and fee discounts. See the table below for details of what the scholarships are worth and who is eligible.

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. Remember to allow consent to share information. 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.

The Care Leaver and Estranged Students Bursary is allocated in addition to any other financial support.

Scholarship

Who is eligible?

How it is allocated

How to apply

What it’s worth

Bursary or fee discount

How many available

Income Assessed Scholarship

UK and EU undergraduate students who are new to HE

Household income £25,000 or less