Thanks to generous support from the Clore Duffield Foundation, which has funded the course’s set-up and first three years of delivery, the Academy invites applications for the first cohort, which will commence in July 2026.
This new programme will provide a targeted pathway to conservatoire training for talented young musicians who have previously faced significant obstacles to advanced musical training. The Academy will be undertaking a focused recruitment effort to find talented, state‑educated musicians aged 18 to 20 who’ve experienced financial or other barriers to opportunity, with at least 50% to be recruited from outside London.
Five students each year will undertake an intensive year of one-to-one tuition, ensemble training, mentoring and academic support. The course provides structured preparation for undergraduate applications and auditions, with the core focus being to prepare students for progression to undergraduate conservatoire or university study. The course will be led by Carla Rees, currently Professor of Low Flutes and Contemporary Flute at the Academy.
All Foundation students will receive a bursary to cover living costs, and free accommodation will be available in University of London halls of residence. Financial assistance will also be offered for students who need to buy musical instruments.
On this milestone, Academy Principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood said: ‘The Academy has been growing its Widening Participation work with increasing energy, investment and output in the last decade. A focused Foundation Year gives us the chance to do what we always dreamt: to identify talented and committed young musicians for whom a shortage of access to teaching and opportunity has left them on the cusp of what is needed for pre-professional programmes. This course offers us a chance of bridging the gap for those who desperately need and deserve it.’
The Academy is well placed to support students from a range of backgrounds, combining outstanding artistic standards with an established framework of financial and pastoral care. The Foundation Year will build on this strong basis, ensuring that every participant is financially secure, emotionally supported and artistically inspired to realise their full potential.
Dame Vivien Duffield, Chairman of the Clore Duffield Foundation said: 'The Foundation Year will give talented young musicians conservatoire-level specialist training and resource, which many have not had the opportunity to access. This programme will give time, space and expert guidance to bridge that gap and to fully realise potential. The Academy pairs the highest musical standards with a long standing commitment to nurturing talent wherever it is found. The Clore Duffield Foundation is delighted to widen the pipeline of exceptional young musicians and ensure that ability, not circumstance, determines how far a young person can go.'
The Foundation Year is intended for students aged 18 to 20 who demonstrate the potential to succeed at undergraduate conservatoire level. Applications are welcomed across all principal studies taught at undergraduate level at the Royal Academy of Music. The application deadline is Friday 8 May 2026, with successful students commencing studies from July to allow sufficient preparation time for the audition period.
