Arts students to be excluded from Initial Teacher Training bursaries

Students training as teachers in arts subjects will no longer be eligible for any bursaries or scholarships following a Government decision to scrap all remaining financial support for music, art & deisgn, and design & technology.

Arts and humanities subjects, English and business studies will lose the £9,000 finance available last year. For teacher trainees in design and technology, and geography, the drop is greater: in 2020/21 they could claim £15,000.  

But students wishing to teach chemistry, computing, maths and physics will continue to attract bursaries and scholarships worth up to £26,000 – only a £2,000 drop compared with last year.  

Chief Executive of the ISM, Deborah Annetts, is calling on the government to reconsider its decision: “Without continued and appropriate levels of funding for teaching, we risk damaging the future of our children’s music education. The benefits of music for tackling anxiety, stress and depression are well documented, so now more than ever it is crucial that we safeguard the opportunities for future music teachers to ensure our children will benefit from a classroom music education.”