Royal Academy of Music boosts state school access with new funding scheme

• The Royal Academy of Music has introduced a new funding scheme aimed at widening access to world-class music education.
• The programme will provide a foundation year study course for disadvantaged state-educated students aged 18 to 20, with a focus on recruiting outside London.
• Crucially, the scheme explicitly excludes privately educated candidates, including those who attended independent schools via bursaries.
• This exclusion has drawn criticism from private school figures, who argue it discriminates against independent school pupils.
• RAM principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood stated the initiative is designed to support talented young musicians who have faced significant obstacles to advanced musical training.

IN FULL

Royal Academy of Music launches new funding scheme for state-educated students only