Leeds Conservatoire has published its Access and Participation Plan for 2025/26 to 2028/29 following approval from the Office for Students (OfS).
The focus of the conservatoire’s new Access and Participation Plan is to continue the work started in its previous plan to support access to its provision, continuation, and degree outcomes for students from several disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. This includes those who belong to multiple underrepresented groups.
The plan also includes an increased and enhanced approach to evaluating the conservatoire’s activity, learning from itself and the wider sector, to continue to provide the best support for the students who need it the most.
Committed to providing accessible training, in 2019 it became the first conservatoire in the UK to remove audition fees for all of its courses, a move which was widely celebrated. The conservatoire also provides a range of scholarships and bursaries, to ensure that no applicant is deterred from applying for financial reasons. It is also part of Go Higher West Yorkshire’s Care Leaver Covenant, with tailored information available for care leavers and estranged students on the Student Support webpage.
The overall aim of the plan is to support students to access music and performing arts higher education, with a particular focus on creating an environment where students recognise the value in their skills and abilities, and can apply them to fulfilling lives and careers in the creative industries and beyond.
The conservatoire will support all groups who are outlined as ‘at risk’ by the OfS. In addition, it has identified key target groups that face particular risks at Leeds Conservatoire and has set targets to help alleviate these.
James Rew, Access and Participation Manager at Leeds Conservatoire, said, “We are so pleased to have a plan that not only meets regulatory requirements but also fits Leeds Conservatoire’s context and students. It’s crucial for us to keep our students at the heart of who we are.”
Leeds Conservatoire is supported by the SEER service from Applied Inspiration to evaluate its Access and Participation Plan and related activities and is committed to sharing key learnings with the broader sector.
