Health and wellbeing

We want you to make the most of your time here and establish good habits that will help you in the future.

Registering with a doctor

You can find a list of doctors on the National Health Service (NHS) website which also has a useful page about getting medical care as a student..

We recommend that you register with a General Practitioner (GP) close to the address where you are living during your course.

To register, you will need to go to the surgery during consulting hours, and you might be asked to show your Academy ID card and proof of your address in the UK.

Students from outside the UK will then be issued with an NHS (National Health Service) number, without which it is not possible to refer patients for hospital opinions or treatment.

We have a relationship with Paddington Green Health Centre, a general practice that provides treatment and advice for most ailments, injuries (including performance-related injuries) and ill health.

4 Princess Louise Close, off Church Street, London W2 1LQ
Telephone +44(0)20 7887 1600 or +44(0)20 7887 1601

Help with healthcare costs

You can apply for an HC2 certificate, which may allow you to get help with NHS prescription charges, sight tests and dental care if you have a low income. The application form is called HC1 and you can download or order it here.

Health for international students

If you are not from the UK but are studying on a course of six months’ duration or more, you can register with a GP and receive health care from the NHS on the same basis as UK citizens. Please look at the UKCISA Health and Healthcare advice page for guidance about this, and note the following details:

• If you have a visa to enter the UK, the visa application process includes an Immigration Health Surcharge, which allows access to the NHS.
• If you are from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, we advise that you read this guidance from UKCISA for EU/EEA/Swiss nationals about comprehensive sickness insurance and how this can affect your right of residence in the UK.

If you intend to travel outside the UK during your studies, we recommend you purchase an annual travel insurance policy before leaving home.

First Aid

The Academy has named and trained first-aiders in the building.

We also have mental health first-aiders, who are here to help if the pressure gets too much or you need a sympathetic ear.

Vaccinations

Tuberculosis

If you require a Student Visa, you may need to take a tuberculosis test before you travel to the UK. This requirement is explained in the guidance available through https://www.gov.uk/tb-test-visa

Meningitis

If you are aged under 25, you are advised to have yourself immunised against meningitis.

New students under the age of 25 can access the meningitis vaccine from their NHS doctor (GP), or from Paddington Green Health Centre.

Students under 18

For Junior Academy details, please go here.

Very few students under the age of 18 years study at the Academy. In most cases it is for a brief period during their first year of undergraduate study.

All students, irrespective of age, are treated equally and provided with the same support facilities, both academic and pastoral. However, where special arrangements need to be put in place for students under 18, the Academy will ensure that these are provided.

For more information, please see our policy for students under the age of 18 years.

Alexander Technique

We believe in a preventive approach to performance-related injury by teaching excellent technique.

At the Academy, we’re lucky to be able to offer students individual lessons in the Alexander Technique, free of charge, thanks to a fund established by the late Sir and Lady Colin Davis.

Although FM Alexander wasn’t a musician, his technique is seen by many musicians as indispensable. It helps to release tension, correct bad postural habits and keep your body aligned – all vital for getting the best out of your career in music.

Students receive twenty lessons spaced throughout the year on a one-to-one basis. Lessons are intended to be an introduction to the technique and are educational rather than therapeutic.

Students learn how to 'use' themselves in the best way possible, and thereby function at their best whilst also avoiding injury.

Our Alexander Technique teaching staff are:

• Paul Moore (coordinator)
• Dorothea Magonet
• Ilana Machover
• Kerin Black
• Jan Steele
• Victoria Walsh

More information about the technique and how it benefits musicians can be obtained from the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique.