Music and Dance Scheme: funding for students
You could get help to pay for your child to go to a specialist music or dance school.
The Music and Dance Scheme provides grants and help with fees at 8 schools and 20 Centres for Advanced Training (CATs).
You can apply for help to pay for:
- full time study at a school
- part time study at a CAT
Age eligibility
To be eligible, your child must be aged:
- 8 to 19 for music schools or CATs
- 11 to 19 for dance schools or CATs
Disabled students at music and dance CATs are eligible up to the age of 25.
Music and dance CATs will not usually accept new applications from students who’ll be 17 or over when they start.
How to apply
Apply directly to the school or CAT.
You’ll usually need to fill out a form and your child will need to audition.
The school or CAT will ask for information about your household income to decide how much funding your child can get.
Music and dance schools
Music schools
| Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Chetham’s School of Music | Manchester |
| The Purcell School | Hertfordshire |
| Wells Cathedral School | Somerset |
| The Yehudi Menuhin School | Surrey |
Dance schools
| Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Elmhurst Ballet School | Birmingham |
| The Hammond School | Chester |
| Royal Ballet School | London |
| Tring Park School | Hertfordshire |
Music and dance CATs
Music CATs
| Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Aldeburgh Young Musicians | Suffolk |
| Centre for Young Musicians | London |
| Guildhall School of Music & Drama | London |
| Royal Academy of Music | London |
| Royal Birmingham Conservatoire | Birmingham |
| Royal College of Music | London |
| Royal Northern College of Music | Manchester |
| Sheffield Music Academy | Sheffield |
| South West Music School | South West England |
| The Glasshouse | Gateshead |
| Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance | London |
| Yorkshire Young Musicians | Leeds, Hull |
Dance CATs
| Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Dance City | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Dance East | Suffolk |
| FABRIC (East Midlands) | Nottingham |
| FABRIC (South Asian National Strand) | Birmingham, across the UK |
| FABRIC (West Midlands) | Birmingham |
| The Lowry | Salford |
| National Centre for Circus Arts | London, across the UK |
| Northern Ballet | Leeds |
| Northern School of Contemporary Dance | Leeds |
| The Place | London |
| Swindon Dance | Swindon |
| Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance | London |
Choir Schools Scholarship Scheme
If your child is aged 8 to 13, you could get financial help with sending them to an independent cathedral or collegiate choir school. Contact the Choir Schools’ Association directly to apply.