Guildhall Young Artists Taunton Finance and Funding

Payment schedule
The course or courses signed up for will be charged for the term. The number of sessions that will need to be paid for after joining will depend on the number of sessions left in the term. Please see our term dates for information. 

After the first term has finished, sessions will be charged termly.

Five Week Trial
All new students will be given a five-week trial period (payable)*. Should they decide not to return to Guildhall Young Artists Taunton after five weeks, the term’s notice period will be waived and a refund will be given for the remaining sessions left within the term.

Terms and conditions for the five-week trial period
*The five-week trial can only be redeemed when signing up to Guildhall Young Artists Taunton in the first five weeks of the term. If notice is not given after the first five weeks of attendance, we will not be able to refund the remaining term. 

We ask for a £50 holding deposit to secure your place. On receipt of your application, a friendly member of our team will discuss your requirements noted on the application form and send a payment link for the reservation of a place. This payment will be taken off one terms fees, or any outstanding balance refunded to your account if you give notice within the five-week trial period.

All students are encouraged to sign up for a free taster session before joining Guildhall Young Artists Taunton. This will give students a better feel for the classes on offer and enable us to design a bespoke timetable for their requirements. 

After the five-week trial period, sessions will be charged termly and a term's notice must be given to cancel (except in exceptional circumstances). 

Please note, the notice period is required to fulfil obligations to the professional tutors, pay for facilities and to encourage you to be fully committed to the courses chosen.

We regret it is not possible to give refunds in the event of absence as the Centre has to continue paying professional tutors and overheads. GYA Taunton expects as close to 100% attendance as possible, to ensure you develop and get the most out of your membership.

Fee Bursaries
We are able to offer a wide variety of bursaries thanks to the generosity of Guildhall Young Artists, Octagon Music Hub (the music education hub for Dorset & Somerset with funds from Arts Council England), and Bishop Fox's Educational Foundation, which all have different criteria. The bursary panel will assess all applications submitted and make the decision as to which funder will support eligible students. Please read the following criteria carefully. If you are unsure whether you qualify for either bursary, please get in touch with gyataunton@gsmd.ac.uk. 
 
Guildhall Young Artists Bursaries
Any student of School Year 9 or above attending GYA Taunton living in a household with a residual income of less than £47,000* may apply (please note that full bursaries are only available to those with a household income of below £32,000 – applications with a higher household income will be considered for a partial award).

*The residual household income is the total gross taxable income from the household, reducing that by the amount of Private Pension Plans, AVC’s, or other taxable allowances which is then further reduced by £2,355 for each child/student in the household who are financially dependent on the family.
 
These awards will be reviewed annually and subject to commitment and satisfactory progress. GYA Taunton will also need to provide updates about bursary recipients to Guildhall School of Music & Drama for monitoring purposes, and you may be asked to contribute towards evaluation of the bursary by means of a survey. 

Bursaries administered by Guildhall Young Artists Taunton on behalf of other trusts and foundations not including Bishop Fox's Educational Foundation
Any student of School Year Reception or above attending GYA Taunton living in a household with a residual income of less than £47,000* may apply (please note that full bursaries are only available to those with a household income of below £32,000 – applications with a higher household income will be considered for a partial award).

*The residual household income is the total gross taxable income from the household, reducing that by the amount of Private Pension Plans, AVC’s, or other taxable allowances which is then further reduced by £2,355 for each child/student in the household who are financially dependent on the family.
 
These awards will be reviewed annually and subject to commitment and satisfactory progress. GYA Taunton will also need to provide anonymised updates about bursary recipients to Guildhall School of Music & Drama and other relevant Trusts and Foundations for monitoring purposes, and you may be asked to contribute towards evaluation of the bursary by means of a survey. 

Octagon Music Hub Bursaries 
Students must meet the following criteria to qualify for a bursary (N.B. Only music courses are supported, as other art forms are not supported by Octagon Music Hub):
1. Between the ages of 5 and 18 
2. A Somerset Resident
3. Currently receiving musical tuition from a Hub Delivery Partner
4. In the professional opinion of the teacher, demonstrating particular potential for musical ability
5. In at least one of the following defined vulnerable groups:

• Children & Young People in Care;
• Care Leavers;
• Young Carers;
• Children eligible for Free School Meals;
• Other children currently involved with Children’s Social Care, eg Children in Need, Children Looked After;
• Children from a family in receipt of the maximum level of Working Tax Credits (evidence required);
• Young People in receipt of Income Support or Universal Credit (evidence required);
• Disabled Young People in receipt of Employment & Support Allowance who are also in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments (evidence required);
• A child or young person experiencing sudden exceptional family circumstances which are preventing the continuation of musical tuition (Evidence or support in writing from the family or other professional would assist such applications).

Bishop Fox's Educational Foundation Bursaries 
Students must meet the following criteria to qualify for a bursary to support attendance at GYA Taunton for music and/or drama and/or production arts courses:
1. School Year 7 and above 
2. A Taunton Deane Resident
3. Currently attending a secondary school (or equivalent if home educated) within Taunton Deane.

These awards will be reviewed annually and are subject to commitment and satisfactory progress. GYA Taunton will also need to provide anonymised updates about bursary recipients to Octagon Music Hub for monitoring purposes, and you may be asked to contribute towards evaluation of the bursary. 

Travel Bursaries 
Travel awards may be made where a student would be unable to travel to Guildhall Young Artists Taunton without support. Travel bursaries are awarded on a means-tested basis. Families interested in applying for a travel bursary should complete the fees bursary application first and request the travel bursary during the application process.

To apply for a bursary please complete the bursary application form online at this link.

The GYA Taunton office will be pleased to provide you with the bursary application regulations and additional guidelines, so you are urged to contact gyataunton@gsmd.ac.uk to request these documents before submitting the bursary application form online.

Please note that you are required to complete the online form 'in one go' as you can't save it and return to it later, so you are advised to allow about half an hour to do the form. Please feel free to request a PDF version of the bursary application form, if you would prefer to see the questions in advance of starting the online process.

The closing date of 31 May 2024 for bursary applications for 2024-25 has now passed, but please continue to submit your bursary application. Late applications will be accepted but GYA Taunton cannot guarantee bursary funding will remain available.

All bursary applications will be considered in strict confidence and with reference to the strict criteria for bursary funding.

If you have any questions or would like help to complete the form, please contact gyataunton@gsmd.ac.uk and our staff will reply as soon as possible.