100% funding cuts to UK arts courses...

[Quodlibet]

This horrifically depressing story today: Coalition funding cuts will remove 100% of public funding from many flagship UK arts institutions including Laban, Royal College of Music, Goldsmiths, Guildhall, SOAS, Central...a very long list.

This essentially is going to mean that not only is the future of our creative industries being drastically undermined, but that studying for a creative career is going to become even more difficult (or impossible) for those from low-income families.

Open University is going to be the biggest loser in cash terms - meaning many of those studying from home/part time/while raising children will also lose out.

Short-sighted, destructive and incredibly depressing.

ROFL Damsel

History of Art is actually all we're going to culturally have once this lot have had their way - there'll be no art in the present.

PMSL Joni / Damsel

I don't know anything abouts arts funding but how much scope is there for them to raise private capital to fund their projects.

I was a bit shocked at Marjons losing funding as it provides places for those in Plymouth and the surrounding areas who cannot move away to uni, like me. I was married when I did my degree there, so could live in the marital home and study. The same applied for my PGCE 10 years later after graduation - I lived at home with my then 5 year old, with dh working away and managed a PGCE combined with school runs. It would not have been possible doing it at Exeter, so having the ability to do it via Marjons was fab.

i am amused that while people bewail the removal of support from SOAS et al, no-one has commented on Heythrop, a Jesuit-run college losing funding (which was presumably not that great to begin with).

I am so sad. I've a son doing a Foundation Course, wanting to go on to an arts degree next year. What hope, eh?

Also, I went to a very sad meeting about the end of Creative Partnerships in schools the other day. Everyone talking about their positive experiences working with creative partners.... now denied to any other schools.

Despicable.

Amazed to see the LSE there?

Mind you it was an LSE professor who wrote the first guff on tuition fees for Labour (thank you not Nick Barr).

Edgar - perhaps people have comment on the "arts" subjects/colleges which they associate most with.

I know my first thought turned to RAM, RCM, RNCM, Guildhall etc,.........because I'm a musician and 95% of my school peers went on to such places.

I tried to see if I could do my MA at Heythrop from Brussels, but it was too difficult and expensive.

This is a total and utter disgrace. There are quite enough foreign students at many of these institutions as it is. The RAM was known to really encourage them when I applied 15 years ago. Goodness only knows what will happen now. Totally appalling. The £9000 a year fees are bad enough. There is no way on this earth I would have gone to music college if I'd have been taking on that kind of debt. No way.

This Govt is showing their true colours and they are not pretty, not at all. And as others have said, ludicrously short sighted.

gaelic - I never had you down as a musician!

Did you go to the RAM???

Nah, the RCM. I cancelled my RAM audition when I got the RCM place. I only went for a year though - I decided it wasn't for me in the end. I barely get chance to play at all these days, and I am sooo out of practice.

awww - that's a shame - I never applied for music for H/E - thankfully realised beforehand that it wasn't something for me. Although i've managed to keep my hand in with my church organ playing. No-where near as good as I used to be - I look at pieces I did for my Grade 8 (and even lower) now and think how did I play that.

Once the DS's are older I'll hopefully be able to take advtange of that church key I have and get over and practice again.

I bet you were there at the RCM with some of my slightly older school friends

That year was great for me though MamoTTaT (yay, I remembered it!). I had actually decided before I went that it wasn't for me, but I decided to go anyway and make the most of the year. So I applied for the course I really wanted to start the following year and treated the RCM kind of like a gap year, I had a really helpful and supportive tutor and it was fantastic. I even won a prize (not for playing, for history of music). I wouldn't have missed the experience for the world. My pic's in the prospectus and everything!

As for why I applied (you're probably wondering). Classic example of parental expectation.

oooo - well done you on prize for history of music and wow at you being in the prospectus!

I was actually one of the first pupils from my school not to go on and study music at University/College - and actually the first ever from the school to take a Gap Year before going off to University.......well except that I never went to University i stayed on my gap "year" for 2 1/2yrs and came back to the UK married and 4 months pregnant .

So I'm guessing you were at one of the specialist music schools then? My parents wanted to send me to Chethams - I refused.

Anyone in London come on the demo to support higher education tomorrow! This is all so abominable. 10 years ago the mantra was Creative Industries Britain PLC - now it is Wasteland Britain PLC.

yes I was - was up at St. Mary's.

'twas my idea to apply for a scholarship/music school, and it turned out my parents had been wondering about the option as well - I was approaching the end of Middle school, and my organ teacher lived 25 miles away, the church I practiced at was a good 20 minute drive away too. So doing my music and coping with senior school work load would have been tough. Something would have had to give.

They didn't want to ask me in case I was upset at the idea of boarding school, I didn't want to suggest it to them in case they thought I was mad

Applied for a few places, 3 I remember were Wells, Giggleswick and St. Mary's. Chethams at that time didn't offer the organ.
Gigglewick turned me down on the basis of my performance in their academic scholarship papers (thought apparently I was suitably musical to get the music scholarship which I'd applied for(

Didn't get into Wells - another organist got in.

But St. Mary's took me and I spent most of my last 5yrs of school life up there, hardly going home even in the holidays

Wow, good for you. I was never that committed if I'm honest - not in my heart. A lot of it was doing what was expected I think. So I'm actually quite turned off music, even to this day, hence my general non-contribution on musiccy MN threads. DS will not be pushed in the way I was.

Oops - or DD (not quite used to having two yet!)

LOL @ forgetting DD

I have to confess I nearly quit not long after getting up to Edinburgh, my dad pushed me hard - to the detriment of other activities (I couldn't play hockey at middle school "in case I hurt my fingers" - couldn't do fencing "because it interfered with practising" , and I hated my organ teacher (and he didn't like the idea of female organists ).

Thankfully the school picked up on the HUGE clash between us and found a new teacher who rekindle my passion for it. And the school was very keen on encouraging us to do other stuff as well as music, and being 100's of miles from my parents meant I was free to do that without pressure.