Page 17 - FINAL_Guildhall Media Highlights 2019-2020 Coverage Book

14 February 2020

Eleanor Philpot

The Guildhall School of Music

and Drama makes significant cuts

to audition fees

The Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD) has cut its UK application fees for its

Acting programmes by 47%.

Coming into effect when applications open for the 2021 entry in September 2020, the fee for

auditions will be reduced from £66 to £35, and will cover all three rounds of auditions.

Orla O’Loughlin, vice-principal and director of drama at Guildhall School says:

‘As one of the world’s leading conservatoires, Guildhall School has a responsibility to ensure
our world class Acting training is accessible to as many potential students as possible. To

this end, we already provide free applications for eligible undergraduate applicants alongside

a number of dynamic access initiatives designed to encourage applicants from
underrepresented backgrounds. 56% of Acting students receive some form of financial

support*. This ongoing commitment to ensuring access to our programmes has resulted in
our most representative cohort of actors on record, with 46% of our current intake identifying

as BAME and a 50/50 gender balance across all our courses. Our ongoing partnerships with

a range of external organisations, in particular Open Door and the Diversity School Initiative,
have proved powerful catalysts for change, and I would like to acknowledge their invaluable

support.

I hope that by substantially reducing the application fee and significantly increasing the

geographical reach of our auditions we make a clear statement that Guildhall School