Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
RWCMD Bursary Fund - The Gift of Opportunity
Funds raised will help to build up a Bursary Fund, providing grants to all students from challenging financial backgrounds via a means-tested process. Bursaries widen access to our training, address inequalities within our sector and nurture the next generation of creative and cultural leaders.
It ran from 12:00 PM, 30 November 2021 to 12:00 PM, 7 December 2021
Registered Charity in England and Wales (1139282)
Match funded Campaign target
£30,000
Amount raised
£30,200
Donations
78
Championed by Reed Education Trust
Location
United Kingdom
Campaign overview
Updates
Aims
Where's the money going?
Impact & reporting
Situation
The cost of conservatoire training is substantial, and many talented students who wish to access our specialist facilities and high-quality tuition are unable to take up their place due to their financial circumstances. We are currently unable to help all of them. There is a real need across the arts sector to widen access, address inequalities and significantly increase the diversity of those entering the industry. RWCMD wants to ensure that all students have equal opportunity to succeed.
Solution
To enable the widest possible access to our training, we have pledged to provide an annual bursary of up to £1,200 for all new UK undergraduate students with a household income of less than £30,000 per annum from the 2021/22 academic year. Fulfilling this commitment will require investment of circa £500k over the coming 4-year period and further investment of £200-250k per annum thereafter. We are therefore launching a public campaign to support the new RWCMD Bursary Fund.
It was really important, wherever I chose to do my postgraduate degree that I receive some sort of financial help…I’m living proof that your background shouldn’t have to affect getting a career in the arts
— Becky Mercer, Student Union President
I feel very passionate about the fact that every person that has talent should have the opportunity to progress, to find a pathway in the profession that they choose
— Carlo Rizzi, International Chair for Opera and Match Pledge Donor
Finding out that I’d got the financial support was amazing, it made me feel so much more confident in my studies
— Jessica Dunne Perkins, Acting Student
My parents would never have been able to afford for me to come to drama school, or university for that matter… I’d never be doing this job as an actor, as a teacher if it wasn’t for a grant or a bursary
— Suzanne Packer, Actor and RWCMD tutor