Agenda item

Report of the Principal.

The Board received a Report of the Principal concerning the School’s International Strategy.

The Principal stressed that, primarily, the outcome of Brexit would have a significant impact on the shape of the strategy going forward. In a scenario where the UK withdraws from the Erasmus programme, fees for EU citizens will increase considerably.

Whilst maintaining the in-take level of students from the EU was a goal, it was clear that increased fees (the unit costs were approx. £18K for music and £23K for acting) could present a significant barrier to maintaining numbers both in the short and the long term and, as a result, much thought needed to be given to alternatives, including reframing the strategy as “Home” (i.e. the UK) and “the rest of the world” (including the EU), as well as prioritising and forging deeper ties with external institutions based both in the EU and elsewhere.

The Principal noted that another potential mitigating action would be to add resources to those courses that are favoured among UK based students – for example, applications to study jazz and electronic music were particularly popular over recent years. She added, however, that the appetite and aptitude among domestic students would of course be reliant upon the resources and prioritisation provided at primary and secondary education level – something which had been highlighted by the Creative Industry Federation’s recent Durham Report.

Due to the meeting being inquorate, a decision to approve the Report will be taken under urgency procedures.