pounds 17m for dance and drama students

DANCE AND drama students will be able to audition for national scholarships from a fund worth pounds 17m, the Government announced yesterday.

At present funding for dance and drama students at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Northern Ballet School is little more than a lottery. Students have to apply to their local education authority for discretionary grants and a third of authorities give no funds at all.

There will be 820 scholarships in the first year, rising to 2,460 by 2001, to help students with fees and living costs.

Students who win one of the new scholarships, which will be available from next September, will not be required to contribute more than pounds 1,000 towards the costs of their fees. The previous average contribution was pounds 2,500.