Access & Participation

Supported Application Scheme workshop participants

Access & Participation intro

Access and Participation activity is designed to:

  • encourage undergraduate applications from underrepresented groups;
  • increase familiarity with the School and confidence with the audition and interview process;
  • instil a feeling of belonging in all participants;
  • provide skill development opportunities, raising participants’ confidence in their creative abilities;
  • offer an insight to the Guildhall School teaching style, ensuring applicants are well equipped to make decisions about their future studies;
  • ensure children and young people have funded access to high-quality training, particularly in music where this can come at considerable expense to families;
  • support current students throughout their time at Guildhall, whether through financial support, practical guidance on learning or careers, or as a safe and friendly space for advice.

To achieve these objectives, we run a number of free schemes and projects for eligible young people, applicants and students.

You can find out more about the Access and Participation Plan which informs this work in our Executive Summary.

Access and Participation Plan Executive Summary.pdf

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Access activities

Opportunities for children and those interested in studying at Guildhall in the future include:

Support for new and current students

In addition to significant support for children and applicants, the Access and Participation team also provide support to current undergraduate students who are underrepresented in higher education.

Other opportunities

Taste of Guildhall

We offer free three-hour Acting workshops to charities and theatre groups who are working closely with a group of young actors. If you would like to explore the possibility of Guildhall coming to you, please contact wp@gsmd.ac.uk. 

Want to visit the School?

We hold one Undergraduate Open Day each year, and many more which are programme specific. Our open days are a fantastic way to find out more about the course and meet current students and staff, and there is often an opportunity to participate in a workshop and/or see our students in action. Find out about our open days. If you receive Free School Meals, and you would like to attend one of our in person Open Days, please contact wp@gsmd.ac.uk to request a travel bursary.

Free tickets for shows

The best way to showcase the training that we offer is to see our current students in action. A limited number of free tickets are available for some performances at the School. If you are a teacher or youth group leader, and would be interested in organising a visit to a performance, please contact wp@gsmd.ac.uk. You can find out more about upcoming performances here.

Get in touch

Email the Access and Participation Team at wp@gsmd.ac.uk

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Impact and Evaluation

Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s continued success in Access and Participation relies on effective evaluation and reporting to the Office for Students.

Read our regulatory reports, containing information submitted annually to the Office for Students, and project level reports, which outline statistics, successes and next steps. Please note that this is a developing area of work for the Access and Participation team - further reports will be published in due course.

Access and Participation - Impact Report 2019-20.pdf