The ‘Music and dance scheme’ (MDS) is a government-funded scheme to provide support for talented musicians and dancers. The scheme provides grants and help with fees at eight schools and 20 centres for advanced training. The funding a student receives is linked to their household income. The Government has continued to fund the two main schemes for the current academic year but it has not made any commitments on longer term funding, which has raised concerns about the impact a reduction could have on the creative industries.
Richard Fuller MP commented:
Despite my limited skills in music and dance, I do appreciate those skills in others. I often say that potential comes in many forms and a good society provides opportunities for forms of that potential to flourish. That is particularly true when young people demonstrate remarkable talents in the arts and, in this case, in music and dance. So I was delighted to meet online with Paul Bambrough, the head teacher of the Purcell School, which is one of a small group of schools included in the Music and Dance Scheme.
The Music and Dance Scheme is a longstanding programme that provides financial assistance, where needed, so that talented children of all backgrounds can receive world class training in their particular discipline. The Purcell School, nearby in Hertfordshire, is one of only four music schools that quality under the scheme.
The head teacher is worried that, after many years of nil, or below inflation, increases in grant funding that this year the Government may cut the scheme back to save money. The families of privately funded students have already been hit by the Labour government's School Tax – whacking 20% VAT on school fees. It seems bizarre for the Government to seek to take another swing at these schools and thereby limiting the potential of some very gifted children.
