UCAS Conservatoires received record number of applications in 2014
5th June 2015
The UCAS Conservatoires scheme received a record 7,985 applications in 2014. Around two thirds of these applicants applied to undergraduate courses.
According to a report from UCAS Conservatoires, the number of students who received places within the conservatoire sector increased by 10% between 2013 and 2014.
The report showed that three quarters of applicants to undergraduate courses and over half of applicants to postgraduate courses from the 2014 application cycle were from the UK.
Music courses had the highest number of applicants and acceptances, but undergraduate drama and dance courses were particularly competitive. Only one in twenty applicants to drama courses were accepted, while one in 12 applicants to dance courses through UCAS Conservatoires received a place.
Young people from the least advantaged areas of the UK are more likely to apply and to enter conservatoires compared to four years ago; however, the most advantaged 20% of young people in the UK remain around six times more likely to enter courses at conservatoires than the least advantaged group.
Hilary Boulding, chair of Conservatoires UK, said: “The Cultural and Creative Industries are the fastest growing industry in the UK, a trend mirrored by the 10% increase in acceptances to conservatoires announced today. These professions look to the UK’s conservatoires to provide them with a regular flow of talent. This is a field in which the UK excels and our graduates continue to succeed at the forefront of a global industry.”
UCAS Conservatoires manages applications to performance-based music, dance and drama courses at eight conservatoires in the UK. All offer music, with two also offering dance and two offering drama.
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