The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama has confirmed that it is following through on plans to close its weekly junior department.
The decision means that in September the doors won’t open to over 300 young musicians and actors who were studying at the college over this past year, with 125 staff members also affected.
Since news of possible closure first emerged in May, there has been a wide outcry in the arts community. An open letter was signed by famous figures including soprano Susan Bullock, Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman and cellist Steven Isserlis, while a petition to the Senedd reached over 10,000 names. As the petition noted, Young RWCMD is currently the only junior conservatoire in Wales, and the closure will make it the only Royal School of Music in the UK without a junior department.
The Cardiff-based college has cited ‘significant financial challenges’ as the reason behind its decision, blaming the impact of high inflation, capped undergraduate fees, and a 6% reduction to higher education in Wales. In a statement, the RWCMD said that a staff consultation process had offered ‘no immediate viable financial solution’, adding that the junior conservatoire is subsidised by the college and receives no direct funding from the Welsh government or the Higher Education Funding Council Wales.
‘After careful assessment, the college has concluded that the current model of weekly activity with Young RWCMD remains financially unsustainable and therefore will not continue in September 2024’, the statement reads.
However, the college added that it will continue to deliver project work with under-18s, including a series of weekend immersive music workshops, the National Open Youth Orchestra Ensemble Residency, and holiday courses in production arts. ‘The College remains fully committed to providing opportunities in music, theatre and drama for young people and to creating pathways into professional training.’
