My daughter attends the RCM Junior Department and loves it dearly. She has gained considerably since starting there almost 7 years ago. However we will now need to seriously reconsider if she can still attend after receiving a letter from them today outlining the fees for next year.

The standard curriculum - which includes a 45 minutes first study lesson plus choir, orchestra, theory and chamber music has gone up by 10% to £1,011!!!! Additional teaching minutes - to extend 1st study to one hour or beyond, or for 2nd or even 3rd study - has gone up to almost £60 per hour!!!!!

And on top of all that the number of teaching days has been reduced from 10 to 9 - making it an effective increase of 22%!!!!!

These lovely surprises came with a standard - please find enclose the fees for next year - letter. No explanation of what the increases were or why they were so huge - and more importantly the fact that the teaching days were reduced from 10 - 9 was hidden in the small print.

What an appalling way to treat people.

I know funding for conservatoires is being cut - but not by this much!! I can't help thinking that the junior department is now subsiding the undergraduates and graduates study.

RAM have posted their fees on their web-site and doesn't seem to have made anywhere near the same level of increases. Are other junior departments making such changes?

Pick up the phone, call the Head of the Junior Department and ask why such a large increase and the short notice of the changes? Ask for help (a bursary) with the forthcoming fees or even if the JD can point you towards an organisation that will assist with funding your child's fees. The short notice is important as you have to make applications to organisations for assistance at set times each year, so it is really quite naughty of them not to give a realistic amount of notice regards the fee increase.

When my son attended a prep school many moons ago (last recession in the late 80s!) the fees went up without any notice. Within two days after intense evening phone calls among ourselves 90% of the parents had written letters of concern and the fee invoice was recalled. That particular term there were no fee increases and we were given assurances that in future a minimum of two terms notice would be given regards any fee increases.

Good Luck

We're in Birmingham. I sincerely hope we are not facing anything similar, particularly since my husband has just been made redundant and numerous job applications is not paying off with interviews yet.
The cut from 9 days to 10 days would concern me, particularly for someone facing auditions for a senior Conservatoire or a younger child. That is 27 weeks of lessons and 25 weeks without lessons. That doesn't sound reasonable. We get the 30 weeks you got and 30 weeks of lessons 22 weeks no lessons is as far as I would go. We paid for additional lessons in the holidays last year as it was.
Dora

We haven't been told yet about fees for next year but re-auditions are still underway.

This is one of my concerns...

You are at the mercy of an Organisation in these matters and I found in the past that the important people - the musical kids! - end up being Processed rather than considered.

In particular, 27 teaching weeks is not enough I think!

This seems a bit outrageous - particularly the 9 lessons per term thing. Have you also checked the fees at Junior Guildhall, or Trinity? Although of course, if she likes her 1st study teacher, and has friends at JD, she might be reluctant to change, especially after 7 years. I dislike the way the JD seem to have you over a barrel in this kind of situation. But if the parents, (or Friends) organisation get together, you just might be able to achieve something. Best of luck!

I think the basic cost of £1011 is good value when you bear in mind the ensembles and the quality of the institution. £60 per hour for additional lessons is high, but then it is a prestigious institution, presumably with top notch teachers.

To provide some context we are in North London and where my children have their lessons we would pay £1500 per child for a 45 minute lesson plus musicianship + ensemble + concerts, thats for a 35 week year. Second study works out at about £40 per hour I think.

One of my children learns one instrument elsewhere in North London and we pay £36 per hour, she teaches in her living room and does not have all the costs associated with an institution and there are no extras.

When I add it up I currently pay over £4,000 pa for two children, each learning two instruments! Ouch.

Where I definitely agree with you is that 27 weeks teaching seems too little. I have often wished mine could have shorter holidays, but when learning via an institution this can be difficult to organise.

It not good that they seem to have snuck in the reduction in teaching weeks, but perhaps it is because they thought parents would prefer that, to an even larger fee increase. The amount you pay is clearly subsidised and I totally acknowledge that talented children should have this opportunity.

Such a high increase in one go is tough, and I would seek clarification on why this is.

The fee of 60 pounds per hour doesn't actually seem that high (!) in that the few conservatoire teachers I know charge much higher than this, so this would seem the going rate, or even slightly below. However, if it is much higher than you have been paying up to now, again that is harsh and I would want to know why. I presume up to now it has been subsidised more.

As to the 27 lessons per year, I agree this is not very satisfactory for younger pupils. However, in my experience students who are both older and advanced (and I presume your daughter is in this category since she has been in the JD for so long) can cope with longer gaps between lessons, because so much more of the work being done actually consists of them going away in their own time and applying what their teacher is telling them. My daughter now only has a maximum of about 25 lessons a year, but doesn't find this a problem because she does not need guidance on every little thing any more. Paradoxically, she gets so much more out of her lessons now and in a recent conversation even said she prefers to have a slightly longer gap (her lessons are roughly fortnightly) because otherwise she doesn't have enough time to really go away and work on all the things that have arisen from her lesson.

I do sympathise with you though, unexpected price rises of this level are not good, and can mean a tipping point as to whether some families can continue. It's also not good if some of the detail such as shorter terms is 'hidden away' in the small print.

There is a big difference between fornightly lessons and having 10 or 12 weeks without a lesson at all. We could manage fortnightly lessons now without a problem but I don't like big gaps. We usually have make up lessons, or I pay for extra lessons with the principal instrument during longer holidays.
We recently had an unavoidable 5 week gap during which my daughter made good progress but I don't think she could manage a 10 week gap without affecting progress.
Dora

A long gap is certainly not what you'd recommend in an ideal world, but it's not insurmountable.

Actually, last year was the first year ever that my daughter didn't have a gap of at least 10 weeks in the summer, because her then teacher stopped lessons at the end of June and didn't restart until the first or second week of September. It was never a problem and she continued to make great progress. Most pupils in this area having lessons within school are in a similar situation, although a couple of teachers offer extra lessons (therefore at extra cost), once the contracted lessons have taken place.

Now, although her lessons are theoretically fortnightly, because of the teaching commitments and overseas performing/lecturing commitments of her teacher, it doesn't always work out that way and we can have gaps of anywhere between 1 and 6 weeks. So when I said 'roughly fortnightly' it is very roughly! The first term of this academic year we did indeed manage fortnightly, but we're now in the middle of a 4-week gap.

However, my daughter is older than yours so the gaps and at times irregularity of the lessons is probably not so much of an issue, and I do think that the younger the student the more this might be a problem.

My main concern would probably be the way this cut in lesson time had been 'sneaked in'. It would have been more honest to have stated it openly, or even opened up a consultation/debate about whether parents would rather have a higher rise in fees or a reduction in lessons.

For us the teaching weeks at JD isn't really a problem as having been taught through the Music Service most lessons stop over the summer. It's a useful time to work on things as directed by the teacher or her own interest. This year we are looking at the possibility of summer schools. I don't think the gaps have ever really effected progress. To be honest emsoboe has progressed more since Christmas, building on work started in September, than she has done in more than two years.

I totally agree about the underhand way cuts in the number of lessons have been made is wrong.

With four children learning a variety of instruments (at least two each) over the years, plus JD fees in the case of two, we have always welcomed the break in the summer holidays! However they have all always attended a summer course. I would especially recommend CYM in London and EYSM (residential) in Herts. I think they are excellent opportunities to meet other musical children and it certainly helps with sight reading skills. These music summer schools plus a school tour (Hmm I also remember Trinity JD used to do a European tour and so does the school orchestra and the LSSO) would occupy appx two weeks in the holidays. Thus the non music summer gap was much shorter.

But I do recognise that these also cost but again most have funds for assistance JUST ASK.

I recently was asked by the HOD of music at school, if I would speak to a parent about how to go about fundraising for an instrument for her extremely talent child. Her child has just been awarded a place at a senior conservatoire and desperately needed a better instrument. I managed to speak to her at a school event and was amazed at how she was struggling to fund her child's fees at a JD. She is a lone parent and actually did not know she could ask the JD directly or anywhere else for assistance with funding for fees or for an instrument. I was too embarrased to tell her I received funding from the same JD for my child.

Many charities/trusts and yes individuals, particularly alumni, give generous funding to the JD to distribute to those who need help, but the JD actually does not automatically send out a form to all parents nor do they ask you directly "How can you afford these fees, can we help you?" The parents have to ask. Do speak to the JD secretary/administrator. Also for the Musicians Benevolent Fund has been helping musicans from all walks of life for many years (rock/pop/jazz/classical/young/retired). Please look at their website and consider applying.

Dora - I suggest as your husband is not working at present, approach your JD now, telling them of the situation and say when your husband is back in employment you will be able to resume the normal level of fee payments.

PS - When filling in financial application forms please remember that children young people currently at University are Dependants.

The fee for 2nd and 3rd study is very high indeed. This might prevent parents from letting their children to pursue a 2nd or 3rd instrument seriously. It might be beneficial to parents and postgraduate students if the less advanced children studying a 2nd or 3rd instrument are allowed to take lessons with postgraduate students at a lower fee.

But overall, I think £1,011 is not expensive at all for a 27-week programme. In North America, a typical junior programme runs for 30 weeks and would cost $4000-5000 (Canadian or US).

Actually this seems like a remarkably low price. We were paying more like £3k a year for the Junior RNCM a couple of years ago.

I believe the fees of £1011 are for a 9 week term, not for the whole year! (£3,033 for 27 weeks- or £112.33 per week). It would always be possible to take 2nd/3rd studies either privately or at school during the week.

It seems a shame that something that has been earned carries such a high price tag.

I did wonder if this was the full fee.

I see, per term! OK that makes more sense. I can see the problem - doesn't mean it's not value for money, but it would be a lot to find for many families.

Can I ask you questions? Is your daughter planning to take music studies when she is older? I auditioned for the RAM. I might start in September as well (depends if I can get in!) I am 12 at the moment; not sure what I can do when I'm older. I need travel to London by train for 1.5 hours and fees are expensive. So my parents are a bit hesitant to send me there - it's tedious and a big commitment to make. How do you think as a parent? If your daughter goes there, do you go with her every time? Thanks in advance for you reply.