ALRA Acting Schools in London & Manchester

Funding Options

Where can I get help with fees?

ALRA is a private school, working with partners in Further and Higher Education.  Depending on personal circumstances and the course undertaken, students can access funding from a variety of sources.

The Three Year Acting course and the Postgraduate Acting course are part-funded by Dance and Drama Awards (DaDAs).

On the Stage Management & Technical Theatre Foundation Degree, Home/EU Students may be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan through the Student Loans Company (SLC) to match the level of tuition fees payable subject to successful application for specific designation currently being undertaken by alternative providers.

For students to be eligible for SLC funding, they must be studying a designated course. Courses at alternative providers including ALRA are designated each year by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. This annual process is normally complete by March of the year of entry; Student Loan applications submitted before this point may be unsuccessful. Visit this page for more information.

Students on the Three Year Acting course who are not offered Dance and Drama Awards are entitled to apply for a Student Loan to assist them with the cost of tuition.  The maximum tuition fee loan currently available for this course is £6,000.  This leaves a balance of tuition fees to be payable (see table above) from private means.  The amounts vary at ALRA North and ALRA South.

All students who are eligible to receive Student Loan funding, whether on the Three Year Acting or Stage Management & Technical Theatre Foundation Degree, are eligible to apply for a Maintenance Loan to help with living expenses.  The amount you are entitled to depends on your income (or that of your parents), and where you are living while studying, but can be as much as £7,675 at ALRA South, and £5,500 at ALRA North. Students living at home can apply for a maximum of £4,375.

Dance and Drama Awards (DaDAs) are scholarships funded by the Education Funding Agency.  They are awarded by schools to the students who display the most potential to succeed in the profession.  
Applicants are considered for awards as part of their audition, and notified if they have been successful at a later date.

Please note, Dance and Drama Awards and Student Loans have eligibility criteria which must be met in order to receive funding:

      1. Candidates must be UK/EU nationals, and must have been resident in the UK/EU for the three years prior to the start of their course.
      2. Candidates must be under the age of 24 at the start of the course.
      3. Candidates must have a household income of less than £90,000 per year.

Please visit the respective websites for full details.

Dance and Drama Awards:https://www.gov.uk/dance-drama-awards

Student Loans: www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-finance

Professional and Career Development Loans

Professional and Career Development Loans are commercial bank loans that you can use to help pay for work-related learning. You can borrow between £300 and £10,000 to help support the cost of up to two years of learning (or three years if it includes one year’s relevant unpaid practical work). The Government will pay the interest on the loan whileyou are learning and for one month afterwards. You will then need to start repaying the loan as you would any other commercial loan product. You can use the loan to pay course fees or other costs such as travel and living expenses. You can also use the loan to supplement other forms of support such as grants or bursaries. As the Professional and Career Development Loan is a commercial loan product, you should make sure you have investigated all the funding options that may be open to you to ensure you take an informed decision about whether the loan is right for you. For further information on financial assistance to support your learning, please visit the GOV.UK website or contact the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900. Our learning provider identification number is: 1026

There is no funding support available for students on the Foundation Acting course.

All fees are non-refundable. In exceptional circumstances where a student withdraws having made full payment, it may be possible to carry the balance forward for future use subject to approval and at the discretion of the Senior Management Team.

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