- The Royal Academy of Music has introduced a new funding scheme aimed at widening access to world-class music education.
- The programme will provide a foundation year study course for disadvantaged state-educated students aged 18 to 20, with a focus on recruiting outside London.
- Crucially, the scheme explicitly excludes privately educated candidates, including those who attended independent schools via bursaries.
- This exclusion has drawn criticism from private school figures, who argue it discriminates against independent school pupils.
- RAM principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood stated the initiative is designed to support talented young musicians who have faced significant obstacles to advanced musical training.
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