CSVPA (Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts)

[PhotoDad]

I'm on a few threads about art at FE/HE and like to be well-informed on the subject as I also help with UCAS in a school.

CSVPA was founded in 1985 and runs courses at sixth-form and FE level, as well as degrees (originally validated by Kingston, and now by Falmouth, two good art schools). It's not to be confused with Cambridge School of Art, a Victorian institution which is now part of Anglia Ruskin University while retaining its own identity.

(Neither CSVPA or CSA have any formal connection to Cambridge University.)

The website has raised various head-scratching questions for me. For instance, its accommodation (provided for all three years) is incredibly expensive compared to the other Cambridge universities, and it charges £22k-£33k in fees (home/international) for the one-year UAL "Foundation in Art and Design" qualification which is, umm, free to UK under-19s at all FE colleges and most universities which offer it.

It has some lovely buildings just north of Cambridge city centre, drama/dance studios near ARU, and now it is expanding into a big new site just off Jesus Green, so obviously it's turning a healthy profit. Is it mainly aimed at the international market?

It seems to be expanding rapidly. I know someone who teaches there and someone who did (before she emigrated) and they are both very good at their jobs and warm, friendly, helpful people.

I’ve been on two of their sites in the evening where there were students working in other rooms. From memory many of them were international, but that might just be that the UK ones didn’t work in the evening. The Sturton Street dance/drama studio had a receptionist checking who went in. They applied to build an extension to that site but it has been refused.

Can you tell me where the “lovely buildings just north of Cambridge city centre” and “ the big new site just off Jesus Green” are? Their website seems appalling, and I couldn’t work that out.

It’s a private drama school and I guess they can charge what they like. It’s small and has some good alumni. Many students wouldn’t afford it but they only need a few who can and they are in business.

As to the cost of accommodation when compared with the University of Cambridge, most of that is provided by the colleges and I read that it’s relatively cheap compared to many other universities. Cambridge is definitely not a cheap place to rent privately.

I don’t know about ARU. They have some accommodation but I’d be surprised if it’s available to all their students.

For accommodation costs, a reasonable comparison might be with Abbey College, which is for GCSEs and A levels and has mainly international students. Both seem to provide some level of supervision, Abbey fees include full or half board.

@Newgirls That's a very good point, at those prices they don't need very many students to turn a profit on the Foundations etc. Hmm. Like those luxury shops which always seem empty but presumably only need a few sales per day to keep running.

@SilverSilverStreet That's reassuring, to know that it attracts good staff. It just wasn't really on my radar and I was struck by their business model. The nice building is just alongside the Round Church, and when walking from the Market up to Jesus Green there was a big building site and the hoardings had CSVPA signs on! I don't recall the exact street, but land must cost a fortune there.

My DD is at ARU/CSA which is one reason that I'm interested (because CSVPA comes up when you google Cambridge and Art!) ARU provides accommodation for first years, and the cheapest room there is literally half the price of the cheapest room at CSVPA (admittedly, not like for like). But if the latter is aiming for the 'luxury' international market, it makes more sense. DD will be in a private HMO next year and that's still some way cheaper than the lowest-priced CSVPA room. (I know that Cambridge University rooms are very good value!)

The website is really hard to navigate (and there is even less on the UCAS site). It all just seemed a little bit strange to me, so thanks for the personal knowledge!

And also on the CSVPA accommodation, this is on the website; "CSVPA closes during the Christmas holiday, but remains open throughout other holiday periods. Fees of £450 per week for catered and £350 per week for self-catered apply if you wish to stay during these times."

I know that several unis kick people out in holidays to use the rooms for conferences, but I haven't encountered this before. Again, presumably, people are prepared to pay it.

I’ve never been in CVSPA’s “nice building” on the other side of Round Church Street, but it’s been there a long time. I can’t imagine it’s big, though, as I’ve been in rooms belonging to other companies to the left and behind it. On its right is the old Park Street car park, currently a building site.

If your walk from the Market Square to Jesus Green took you along King Street and was some time ago, CSVPA indeed had premises there for a few years, in a former furniture store. It is owned by and is part of Christ’s College and was redeveloped by them for accommodation for their own students and for shops. When CSVPA was there they knew it was temporary and that’s when they acquired the Sturton Street premises.

If it was more recently and somewhere else I’ll have to investigate further :-)

Colleges of Cambridge University do try to use their facilities out of term for conferences. It’s a big earner for them and is partly why many student rooms are now built with en-suites.

Posts made around 13 June in this thread mention students having to move out at the end of term.

Thanks for that, @SilverSilverStreet! By "nice" I suppose I meant "probably expensive" rather than "big." 😀

Hah! I've had a look at Google Maps and the building site I saw was a corner of the old Park Street Car Park (still there on Street View). I suspect that CSVPA had just paid for advertising on the hoardings, and I jumped to the wrong conclusion that it was a new site for them.

Gotta love MN when I can sort out my own mistakes.

And to derail my own thread, I had to clear my rooms out every vacation (Oxford). As I lived overseas I was allowed to use roughly 1 cubic metre of the college's Store Room. Did a master's in Cambridge (partly based in Silver Street...) and I love both cities. My claim to fame is that I was there as a gobsmacked witness before the centre was pedestrianised, when a tour bus took a chunk out of Caius (you can still see the repair).

Land Economy?

I probably won’t be seeing the person who works at CSVPA until September, but I may be able to talk to her then about their intake, target market etc.

Being located in Cambridge is quite a draw for independent educational establishments. I can think of a few here which were opened a few decades ago and which have really grown.

@SilverSilverStreet Thank you, I'd appreciate that! And not Land Economy, my college was on Silver Street though.

For post-A level education Cambridge isn’t a bad place to be. Many Cambridge University societies seem to be open to ARU students. I don’t know if that would apply to CSVPA too.

Other than the extortionate fees the FAD does sound good, though I notice the animation/film pathway is in London. It also says you will have chosen your pathway before starting (so no diagnostic option).
Looking at the wording, they refer to 'high school' and year group 'depending on the native country' which clearly indicates they are aiming at the international crowd. Their domestic degree fees seem 50% higher than the norm, though I don't understand why they refer to semesters rather than years. Higher still for international students but not as high as some and could still be attractive to US candidates.
Anyway all fascinating!

Late to returning to the thread, but in September I spoke to the person I knew who used to work at CSVPA and she is no longer there. Career change.