Funding
What does it cost to go to a Vocational Dance or Musical Theatre School |
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Read prospectuses carefully and do not be attracted to a school for reasons other than the quality of its provision. The school needs to offer training that suits your professional ambition. It is wise to look at a number of prospectuses and to target a number of schools. Most vocational schools offer a three year full-time training programme. Classes usually start at 8.30am and continue until 6pm. Taught sessions are frequently followed by two or three hours of rehearsal for five days a week with additional rehearsals often scheduled for weekends. |
Many vocational schools now also offer excellent degree programmes. On degree courses there is an academic element in addition to the practical dance training. Finding the funds to study on dance and musical theatre courses can be expensive. A course at a CDET accredited vocational training school can cost anything between £7,000 and £13,000 per year. Depending on where you study, different types of funding exist. |
Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) |
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The Department's Music and Dance Scheme currently enables around 2200 exceptionally talented children to have access to some of the best specialist music and dance training available in the world alongside a good academic education. The MDS enables exceptionally talented children between the ages of 8 and 19 (young dancers aged 11 to 16 on first application) to receive a good academic education alongside the best specialist music and dance/ballet training available. At present four dance schools offer MDS places to ballet students at 11:
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Contact the DfE Music and Dance Scheme for more information — 020 7340 7046 or www.education.gov.uk/b0068711/mds. In addition, the Centres for Advanced Training (CATs) are organisations or consortia of organisations/partners for exceptionally talented children allowing them to gain access to specialist dance training in other dance genres. Visit www.education.gov.uk/b0068711/mds/cats for more information including the including the list of CATs. |
Further Education (Dance and Drama Awards) |
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First introduced in 1999, the Dance and Drama Awards offer annual scholarships to exceptionally talented performing arts students studying at some of the country's leading providers of vocational training in dance, drama and musical theatre. Funded by the government through the Education Funding Agency (EFA), DaDAs offer reduced tuition fees and assistance with living costs for the duration of the course. Following a review of the scheme in 2012, the government has confirmed that from 2013:
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Income assessment of the Awards means that support for students from low income households will be increased. For example, a student whose annual household income is under £30,000 will pay no fees for their course. If their household income is under £21,000 they will also receive up to a maximum of £5,185 per annum in a grant to help with living costs. Details of the levels of support available are published on the DfE website at the following link: www.education.gov.uk/childrenand |
Applying for a DaDA |
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Nineteen providers have been selected to offer DaDAs to students, in order of talent, in accordance with the level of support as determined by income assessment. Students intending to apply for an award should contact a vocational DaDA school directly to enquire if it has any DaDA funding available. The nineteen providers are all quality assured by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and the eligible courses are validated by Trinity College London. Most have an additional accreditation with either the Council for Dance Education and Training and/or Drama UK. DaDAs are only available to students studying for the following Trinity College London (TCL) qualifications:
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To be eligible for an award a student must:
CDET schools offering DaDAs are indicated on our website under Accredited Schools and they will be able to provide additional information. For more information on the new DaDAs from September 2013 please download the DaDA information leaflet – click here Call the Learner Support helpline on 0800 121 8989 for more information if you started in the 2011/12 or 2012/2013 academic year. For more information about the awards visit the DaDA Information website and their successes visit The Dance and Drama Awards Ten Years of Success. |
Higher Education (HE) |
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Higher Education courses lead to a degree, diploma or certificate validated or awarded by a university; a number are now also designated 'vocational'. Students following HE dance courses do not qualify for DaDAs but are eligible for mandatory, Higher Education awards which cover the greater part of tuition fees. Student Loan - UK and EU students entering Higher Education are eligible to apply for a tuition fee loan of up to £9,000 or £6,000 at a private university or college in 2013/14. Maintenance Loan - The maximum Maintenance Loan for new students starting from 1 September 2013 is:
You can apply for a partial Maintenance Loan which doesn't depend on your household income information. This means you can apply without |
can apply without your parents or partner having to send in any details of their income. If you want to get the full Maintenance Loan Student Finance England will assess your household income and base the amount of your loan on that. Your household income is your parents' or partner's income, plus your own. Maintenance Grant -You can also apply for a Maintenance Grant if your household income is below £42,611. You can get:
You can only get a Maintenance Grant if your household income is assessed. This means Student Finance England will look at your household income and work out how much money you get for your Maintenance Grant. For more information visit Student Finance England |
Other Funding |
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Some courses may not be funded by any awards. In these cases, students are responsible for the full cost of fees and may need to secure private funding via loans, scholarships and trusts. |
loan while you're studying – and for one month afterwards. To be eligible, you’ll need to be 18 years old or over. To find out more information regarding Professional and Career Development Loans please visit the Gov.uk website: www.gov.uk/career-development-loans/overview |
Other Organisations
Charitable Trusts and Foundations
Local Trusts and Foundations
Helpful Books and Publications
Useful websites
www.dsc.org.uk
www.grantsforindividuals.org.uk
www.turn2us.org.uk









