Author: Yvonne McLellan

Fair Access Fair Access Expo: Community and Applied Arts Practice

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Fair Access Expo: 

 Community and Applied Arts Practice 

Friday 7 June, 10-3:30pm at The Boardwalk, Glasgow G1 1TF

Are you aged 16 – 25 and want to use your creativity to ask questions, share stories and make change? Do you think the arts can change people’s minds, opinions and lives? Are you interested in building leadership and facilitation skills? If the answer is yes, come along to find out more about Community and Applied Arts Practice at our Fair Access Expo.

At this exciting all-day event, we’re inviting you to join practical sessions with experienced community artists to:

  • Make Theatre
  • Get Moving
  • Make Music
  • Tell a Story

They’ll share their skills and show you how they work creatively with a range of communities. Come and learn about the stories that matter.

What is Community Arts Practice? 

It’s a springboard to careers in teaching, directing, performance making, youth work, community music, arts in health and wellbeing, community education, play work, arts funding, creative learning in arts and cultural organisations and so much more.

How to register

To register, please visit the Eventbrite event page where you can sign up as a young person to attend, or as a teacher to book for a group of pupils.

Ticket like button for registering

Who can attend

Fair Access prioritise places for young people aged 16 – 25 who are facing barriers in accessing the arts and who meet one or more of the following criteria:

Get in touch if you have any questions or need us to check a postcode for you.

If you are a young person living very rurally (e.g. on an island) you may also be eligible. Please get in touch with us and we will let you know if you can apply.

Note to teachers

If you are a teacher, we encourage you to attend this opportunity with your pupils. If you cannot attend, we ask that either an alternative member of staff accompanies the group, or that the students are passed on the booking link in order to book themselves a place. This will enable us to collect the details we require from the young people attending to be able to run the event effectively.

Contact WACI for More Information

You can contact the team at waci@rcs.ac.uk

SAAS Update for Care Experienced and Estranged Students

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 SAAS UPDATE 

For Care Experienced and Estranged Students

SAAS has updated information about support for care experienced and estranged students. If you are care experienced or estranged, make sure you check out their specific grants.

Care Experienced Students can now apply for a Special Support Loan of £2,400 over and above their main undergraduate funding package (bit.ly/saas-cee-update) There is also a summer accommodation grant available – Care Experienced Summer Accommodation Grant of £1330 (for formal accommodation costs) and £665 (for informal accommodation costs). Estranged Student funding for 24/25 will have an additional £2,400 uplift.

Call, email or visit our website

Coaching Sessions for Early 2024

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Coaching 1-1 Sessions 

January to May 2024

A group of people chatting round a table
©RCS-Robbie McFadzean

What is coaching? 

Coaching involves structured conversation which aims to help you work through challenges, set goals and go on a journey of self-discovery. It can be especially useful during times of transition and change. 

The details: 

  • sessions are 45 minutes long 
  • you can take part in up to 5 sessions between January and May 2024 
  • you can meet your coach weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on what is most useful to you 
  • there is the option to meet your coach online or face-to-face 
  • sessions may be available at various times during the weekdays, evenings or weekends

What is Coaching Like?

Here you can watch a series of videos featuring Transitions students on Vimeo talking about the benefits and what coaching sessions are like.

Book Now button

Deadline to sign up:

16 December

Find out more

Check your emails or contact the team for more information at: transitions@rcs.ac.uk

Information Sessions for Prospective Applicants

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Information Sessions 

For Applicants for 2024.25

A group of people chatting round a table
©RCS-Robbie McFadzean

Come along to our information sessions from 5pm – 7pm on:

  • 1 December: for ages 12+
  • 23 January: for ages 16+
  • 26 January: for ages 7-12

The sessions are being held online and are an ideal opportunity for you to:

  • meet the team
  • get more information about Transitions
  • ask any questions you may have

To register your interest in attending, email the team at transitions@rcs.ac.uk

Applications for 2024.25 Now Open!

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Applications Now Open! 

Apply now for Transitions 2024.25

A collage of images of young people doing production and performing arts

*APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED*

Application Deadline: 31 January 2024

Transitions is an award-winning performing and production arts initiative. We believe that everyone with talent and potential should have access to training at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland regardless of their background.

We understand that finding and funding suitable training activities and courses can be challenging for many people who want to pursue a career in the performing and production arts.

The Transitions initiative aims to provide funded training for those wishing to study the performing or production arts. We seek to help people who would like to study:

 Can you join Transitions? 

To be eligible you must meet the following criteria:

  • you are 16+ if interested in either drama, film or production
  • you are 7+ if interested in music or ballet
  • you have not completed a higher education programme
And are one or more of the following:
Or are living in an SIMD1 or SIMD2 postcode and:
  • living rurally
  • Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC)
  • a young carer

 Contact Us 

If you would like us to check your postcode, or have any other questions, please contact the team

📧 transitions@rcs.ac.uk

Call, email or visit our website

Let's Talk About

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Let’s Talk About 

A new Fair Access Project working with

Care Experienced and Estranged Young People

Young person holding a camera hiding their face
📸 Graeme Roger

Let’s Talk About…our new project working with care experienced and estranged young people in the performing and production arts. 

Supported by the William Grant Foundation, we are hoping to highlight some of the best arts practice happening across Scotland. We’ve kickstarted the project in Aberdeenshire, working with one of the nine care groups overseen by Holly Robertson, Aberdeenshire’s Virtual Head Teacher. We visited the Meldrum Academy care group on a field trip to Newburgh Seal Beach with our artists in residence, Graeme Roger and Dave Martin. 8 young people got to grips with how to use film, photography, sound equipment and even drones on the beach. We can’t wait to see what work they produce at their exhibition later in the year. 

Let’s Talk About…is taking place in Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire, on Mull and beyond this autumn and winter and we will be sharing how the project is going on a brand-new website soon. In the meantime, if you want to read about some of our care experienced work we did last year, check out our Sounding Out report.

If you are care experienced or estranged and interested in studying the performing and production arts, you might be eligible for our Transitions programme. Find out more about how to apply to Transitions on our website.

Fair Access Filmmaking Taster Morning

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Fair Access 

 Filmmaking Taster Morning 

Wednesday 8 November, 9:30 – 1pm

RCS, 100 Renfrew St, Glasgow G2 3DB

A group of young people with a tutor playing with film cameras

Are your pupils interested in studying Filmmaking at a college, university or conservatoire? Sign up now for you and up to three of your pupils to attend our Filmmaking Taster Morning at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 

Come and meet some of the Fair Access team where we’ll be on hand to advise about what support we can offer you and your pupils. The taster session will also be a great opportunity to:

  • Find out more about the RCS BA Filmmaking course
  • Try your hand at screenwriting
  • Hear from and chat with current filmmaking students
  • Get up close with filmmaking equipment

We welcome you inside RCS to get a feel for what it could be like to study here.

Booking Deadline: 1 November, 12 noon

Please note: Fair Access is funded to support young people who face barriers in accessing the arts. You are welcome to book up to three of your pupils on this session who meet the following criteria:

Get in touch and we can check your postcode for you. 

 Contact Us 

If you have any questions about this activity, please email: fairaccesshello@rcs.ac.uk

Open Call for Care Experienced/Estranged Performers

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Open Call for 

 Care Experienced / Estranged 

 Performers 

An RCS Fair Access Project,

Funded by the William Grant Foundation

A group of young people performing in a hall

The Fair Access department at RCS are seeking care experienced or estranged performers for the rehearsal and tour of a short, well-developed work in progress aimed at children aged 5 – 8. Please note, this will be a fictional story-led show, based on ideas from children.

Performers can be from any artform but must be comfortable in a collaborative devising process and be experienced at interacting with young children in a performing arts context (eg. workshop delivery or performance).

We are looking for open, playful and imaginative performers who enjoy working in non-theatre spaces and are committed to creating a safe and nurturing environment for audiences.

The Fair Access department wants to create opportunities for care experienced and estranged performers in a professional setting that is supported by experienced practitioners.

The project involves: 

  • 3 development days in Glasgow (potentially including workshops in primary schools) – week beginning 11th December 2023. 
  • 2 weeks full-time rehearsal in Glasgow – weeks beginning 8th and 15th January 2024. 
  • 5-day (approx.) tour in various locations around Scotland – week beginning 22nd or 29th January 2024 (tbc).  

Project Fees: 

  • £2500 (3 development days, 2 weeks rehearsal, 5-day tour). 
  • Travel, accommodation and subsistence covered during 5-day tour. 
  • Performers will be employed on a freelance basis and responsible for own tax/NI. 

To express interest in auditioning please use the form above to tell us a bit about yourself, your performance experience and why you would like to be considered. You may also submit a CV if desired.

Deadline for applicants:

Monday 23 October 2023 at 12noon. 

Auditions will take the form of a practical workshop on Thursday 9 November 2023 from 10am – 12noon at RCS, 100 Renfrew Street, G2 3DB. 

Contact Us

If you would like more information, please contact us on transitions@rcs.ac.uk with the subject ‘Open Call Query’

A Warm Welcome to All Our Students

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Events and Activity Kickstarting 2023.24 

Get Into: Production and Guitar, Interview Skills and New Ambassadors Meeting

☀️ Fair Access are celebrating the start of the new academic year for 2023/24. We’re thrilled to have all our students back, new and returning, with a host of activities to start us off.

🔈 GET INTO: PRODUCTION

Those interested in learning about stage management, lighting, prop making, set design and more were off to a great start with their first session in sound with RCS’s Head of Production Ros Maddison.

🎸 GET INTO: GUITAR

A classroom with 5 students and tutor talking about guitars

This strand of our ‘Get Into’ programme is designed to develop performance skills and general musicianship. Embarking on a journey of discovery, delving into the fundamentals of guitar playing while fostering a love for music. Led by RCS students who are passionate about nurturing new talent, students will go on to learn everything from basic chords and strumming techniques to sightreading and improvisation. With weekly group lessons and one-to-one attention, students will build skills, gain confidence, and develop a solid foundation in guitar playing.

🎓 TRANSITIONS YOA INTERVIEW SKILLS

A studio classroom with people at tables chatting

Kickstarting the Transitions Year of Applications student activities for the year was an interview skills workshop. These are invaluable workshops in preparing our students in getting ready to apply for further study in the performance and production arts.

⭐️ FAIR ACCESS AMBASSADORS

A room of students with a tutor, standing

And lastly, a huge thank you to all our new Fair Access Ambassadors who attended the first meet-up of the year. It was great to see everyone getting to know each other and we’re looking forward to the year ahead with you all. Welcome!

 Get In Touch 

If you would like to find out more about the work that Fair Access do, visit or website at rcs.ac.uk/fair-access, sign up for our newsletter via the website or if you have any questions or queries, email: fairaccesshello@rcs.ac.uk

Focus Group: Transitions Students

Posted on by Yvonne McLellan

 Focus Group for Transitions Students 

Wednesday 15 Nov 2023 & Wednesday 27 Mar 2024, 6 – 7:30pm

A group of young people in parallel lines talking

You are warmly invited to come along to our Focus Group for Transitions here at RCS.

What it’s for:
These sessions are run by Jesse Paul, the Head of Fair Access and members of the Transitions team. At the focus group, you will have the opportunity to tell us about your experience as an RCS Transitions student. Each year, we want to make improvements so that we can support you best. 

Dates for the diaries:
Book now to secure your place on the Focus Groups taking place on:

  • Wednesday 15 November 2023
  • Wednesday 27 March 2024

 Click Here for the Booking Page  

Location
Both Focus Groups will take place in the Renfrew Street Building
Future reminders:
Add details of this Focus Group to your calendar or diaries but you can also check the dates at any time on our online calendar.
Got questions?
You can get in touch with Jesse at: j.paul@rcs.ac.uk