If you have any questions (big or small!), please do get in touch with our admissions team at matriculation@rcs.ac.uk who will be more than happy to help you.
If you have any questions (big or small!), please do get in touch with our admissions team at matriculation@rcs.ac.uk who will be more than happy to help you.
The majority of programmes will start on the 20 September 2021 with the exception of PGDE which will start on the 16 August 2021 and MMus Opera which will start on 6 September 2021.
You will receive further induction and matriculation information by email at the end of August.
Please send evidence of your results such as certificates and/or transcripts to matriculation@rcs.ac.uk.
We understand the anxiety that offer holders will have in trying to secure the requirements they need for entry onto their programme. If you have any problems in meeting any of your conditions, please contact us at matriculation@rcs.ac.uk to discuss this. Should there be a delay in meeting the conditions of your offer, we are more than happy to review and extend the deadline to meet the conditions of your offer.
This will be emailed to all new students (unconditional and accepted offers) at the end of August.
This information will only be emailed to you once you hold and have accepted an unconditional offer.
Covid-19 continues to impact people around the world but UK visa processing times are beginning to return to normal in many countries. If you find that you cannot come to Scotland in September due to Covid-19 travel restrictions please get in touch with admissions@rcs.ac.uk.
The UK Home Office continues to have some Covid-19-related concessions in place for Student route visa holders and sponsors.
Please refer to Covid-19: Guidance for Student sponsors, migrants and Short-term Students pages 13-16 for more information.
Wherever we possibly can, we’ll facilitate in-person activity, as we know how important it is as artists that we connect with each other.
Keeping our community safe will, of course, continue to be our first priority and we have safety, cleaning, and sanitising protocols in place to support that.
We also need every member of the RCS community to play their part in ensuring this is a Covid-safe campus for everyone.
We have worked carefully with health and safety specialists to ensure that throughout the pandemic we have been able to offer a blend of in-person and online learning and teaching that enables our students to develop their artistry, continue to create new performance, meet their critical assessments on time, and above all, prioritise student safety and wellbeing.
Campus and facilities
A number of changes have taken place to the campus to ensure it is a safe learning environment and that social distancing can be maintained at all times. These changes range from reducing numbers on campus, creating one way systems around campus, installing handwashing stations, transforming spaces into new performance venues and student break out areas, and ensuring every room has strict capacities.
Every room and performance venue is cleaned after activity takes place, and the Estates and Domestic Services team work closely with colleagues across the conservatoire to ensure safety across our buildings.
All of these precautions make our campus a safe place to learn and work, and we take pride in being a Covid considerate community.
Blended learning
Throughout the pandemic we have continued to have in-person activity take place when safe to do so and where necessary for assessment and teaching purposes.
This has varied across programme, depending on the needs of each of our students. Socially-distanced ensemble learning has taken place to facilitate rehearsals of orchestral projects, dramatic performance, dance lessons, filming on location, set creation and much more.
All in-person learning and teaching is done under strict Covid guidelines.
What Will Happen Next?
The transition to a ‘Beyond Level 0’ environment will not be immediate at RCS. We want to work carefully and consistently and with the support and guidance of specialists internally and externally, to ensure the steps we make are in-line with other parts of the education sector in Scotland and, vitally, that we continue to prioritise the safety and well-being of all our students and staff.
That means that, for the remainder of T4 and through all RCS operations until Sunday 26 September (inclusive), current protocols and current learning, teaching and working arrangements will remain in place.
What is Changing at RCS from Monday 27 September?
From Monday, 27 September, there will be some general changes at RCS.
These will include:
That doesn’t mean that from this point there will be no social distancing at all. The removal of mandatory institutional requirements around factors such as social distancing, as one example, enables us to start working carefully and contextually at programme, departmental and, where appropriate, individual level to assess risk and agree safe practice.
This detailed micro planning of how different areas and groups will operate in this new phase of Covid management is being devolved to department level, with the support of the Health and Safety team. The leadership teams in each area of conservatoire operations are now best placed to work with their colleagues to contextualise their operations while working safely and following best practice and base sector and public health guidance.
This may mean that different programmes and departments have slight differences in their operating protocols due to guidance and risk factors that may be specific to them, safe practice specific to brass, woodwind, vocal etc.
It is expected that you start in person in September 2021.
If you are shielding or have other health-related personal circumstances that mean that you cannot come to campus and study safely, even with all the health measures in place, then we will look at your case individually to see what is possible. Depending on what you are studying, we may be able to support you studying fully at a distance, however, we will not be able to replicate every aspect of the on-campus learning experience.
For some programmes, it may not be possible to complete your studies without being on campus because there may be requirements to demonstrate particular skills. If you have concerns about beginning your studies, please contact us at admissions@rcs.ac.uk.
The Conservatoire will not be offering deferred entry. If you wish to commence in 2022, you will be required to reapply next year.
If you are certain that you are unable to join us this year and you wish to decline your place, please notify us of this by emailing admissions@rcs.ac.uk as soon as possible so that we may offer a reserve student your place. If you only have a conflict with the beginning of the term and/or require a flexible arrangement to commence your studies, please email admissions@rcs.ac.uk with the details of your situation and it will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
The Conservatoire will not be offering deferred entry. If you decline your place and wish to commence in 2022, you will be required to reapply.
Base Glasgow is the Conservatoire’s preferred student halls of residency and is situated in the centre of Glasgow, within a two-minute walk of the Renfrew Street building. More information can be found on the Base Glasgow website. New students will receive a booking link at the end of April. You can learn more about private accommodation in Glasgow on our website.
Regular Covid testing is going to be important for students and staff, before and throughout the academic year to keep you and others in the RCS community safe.
Before you travel:
Students travelling to RCS from within the UK are encouraged to book a PCR test prior to travelling to their term-time address:
International students should follow the testing guidance:
*Students coming from a red list country will need to book a quarantine package before travelling and complete quarantine on arrival.
Testing on arrival:
Students arriving from overseas should refer to the international student testing guidance above for ‘Arrivals into England’ and ‘Arrivals into Scotland’, as well as refer to the details outlined in the below FAQ titled, ‘What’s the process for arriving from overseas? Will I need to isolate/self-quarantine? Do I need a Covid test upon arrival? Does it depend on where I’m arriving from?’
On arrival at RCS, students should take 2 LFD tests (3 to 4 days apart) using home test kits available online and from local pharmacies:
Students and staff are encouraged to test twice each week using home test kits and to record their results – both positive and negative via this link:
The UK currently has foreign countries on three lists: red, amber, or green.
Before travelling to Scotland from a green list country or area, you must:
You will not need to isolate unless the result of the COVID-19 test you’ve taken on day 2 after arriving back in Scotland is positive or NHS Scotland Test and Protect contact you to let you know that you need to isolate as you’ve travelled with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. If you’ve been in a country or area on the red or amber list in the 10 days before arriving in Scotland, you’ll need to follow the rules for red or amber list countries.
If you’re travelling to Scotland from an amber list country and have been fully vaccinated, you will not need to self-isolate but you must:
If you have been in a red list country at any point in the 10 days before arriving in Scotland, you will only be allowed to enter the UK if either:
If permitted to enter the UK from a red list country, before travelling to Scotland, you’ll need to:
On arrival in Scotland, you must quarantine in the hotel you’ve booked for 10 days.
For further information on the requirements, including the CTM Booking Portal, the definitions of “fully vaccinated” and to note any changes before you arrive in Scotland go to:
Students under 18 travelling to Scotland do not need to self-isolate when they arrive, as long as they either:
You must take a COVID-19 PCR test within 2 days of arriving in Scotland – you must book and pay for this test using the CTM Booking Portal.
I am travelling to Scotland from a red list country. Can I get financial assistance from RCS to help with the cost of hotel quarantining?
You will need to book and pay for the hotel yourself and then submit an application, after matriculation on 20 September 2021, to the Coronavirus Fund (June 2021) at:
We have a Welcome Home Support Team who are on hand to deliver essential groceries, medical supplies and other household items. More information on this support service is available from within your August mail-out.
Taking two doses of Covid vaccine is the best way of keeping yourself and others safe and we recommend strongly that all students and staff take up the opportunity to be vaccinated when offered. There is also evidence that Long Covid infections are also reduced in the vaccinated population.
UK students:
Covid vaccines are now available to everyone over the age of 16. There is still time to ensure that those of you can have both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine before arriving on campus. The more people who are vaccinated against coronavirus, the better we can help reduce transmission and the health consequences if you do catch the virus.
If you are resident in the United Kingdom and do not currently have an appointment for the first or second dose (8-weeks after the first) of the vaccine, you can find out details on how to arrange an appointment or walk-in vaccination centres at NHS Inform. If you are under 18 and attending a drop-in clinic, please check that the clinic offers the Pfizer before attending.
For further info:
International students:
It is not necessary to have been vaccinated before arriving in Scotland as there will be opportunities to be vaccinated when you arrive at RCS. Further details here:
Vaccination on campus
There will be a mobile Covid vaccination centre in the car park at the Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) campus across from RCS on Tuesdays September 21st and 28th from 10:00-18:00. This is a drop-in service, no appointments are required and anyone requiring vaccination can attend.
For further Covid advice, students in Scotland can go to: https://www.studentinformation.gov.scot/coronavirus/
All staff and students are advised by RCS and the Scottish Government to stay at home and NOT attend campus if they have potential Coronavirus symptoms (new and persistent cough, fever/high temperature (37.8C or greater), loss or change to sense of taste or smell).
If you become unwell with coronavirus symptoms on campus you should:
• Avoid touching anything and maintain 2m distancing.
• Leave the room you are working in and, if possible, wear a face covering on route to Client Services reception so that you can access the first aid room.
• You will need to self-isolate straight away and Client Services will support you with arrangements to get home and take details so that AAS can be informed. Students must also follow the Student Absence Reporting process using the ASIMUT absence function on Moodle.
• If at any point you become very unwell, Client Services should be contacted to call an ambulance.
• Try to avoid public transport but if you need to use it try to keep away from other people
• If you are not a driver with a car nearby, or too unwell to drive yourself home, arrangements should be made for a household member or taxi to take you home.
• Ensure your Head of Programme, or supervisor is informed by someone else or by phone / email.
• You should arrange a test though www.nhsinform.scot or, if you can’t get online, use your mobile to call 0800 028 2816, to arrange to get tested.
• Cough or sneeze into a tissue and put it in a bin, or if you do not have tissues, cough and sneeze into the crook of you elbow.
• You must then follow the guidance on self-isolation and not return to work or study on site until your period of self-isolation has been completed.
• Domestic Services should be contacted by Client Services and advised of any areas where the person has spent time recently so that these areas can be subjected to enhanced cleaning.
Until you have been tested and told if it is safe to leave home, you must not come to the RCS campus.
Students who have symptoms, however mild, should remain in their accommodation (or home, if it is in Glasgow) and arrange to be tested at the first possible opportunity by visiting the NHS Inform website. You should not leave your accommodation for any reason other than to attend for a test and you should minimise contact with others in your ‘household’. You should notify all other members of your ‘household’ as they will also be required to quarantine for 14 days, unless you subsequently get a negative test result. More information for households with a possible Covid infection is available on NHS Inform.
People who have tested positive for the virus will need to self-isolate for a minimum of 10 days and must not return to RCS until they have completed the isolation period and been fever-free for at least 48 hours. If they feel well enough, and they are able to study remotely, they may do so.
If you receive a positive test result for covid-19, NHS contact tracers will interview you and get in touch with people you have been in close contact with, and tell them they must self-isolate for 14 days. If you are informed by a contact tracer that you should isolate, you should do so straight away. You may feel well, as the virus could still be incubating when you are asked to isolate. Some people who are asked to isolate may not become unwell, but they must stay at home and self-isolate for the full 14 days.
If you become unwell and are too unwell to continue study, you should inform your Head of Programme that you are unwell and sickness absence will be recorded in the normal way. If you test positive for Covid-19 during this period you should notify your Head of Programme. Heads of Programme should give as much support to their students as they can while they are away.
RCS will not ask anyone isolating to come into the buildings before their period of isolation is complete, in any circumstances.
Once a person who is a possible Covid case has left the premises, the immediate area occupied by the individual, e.g. first aid room and activity area, will be cleaned with detergent to remove organic matter such as dust or body fluids then a disinfectant to kill pathogens. This should include any potentially contaminated high contact areas such as door handles, telephones and grab-rails. Once this process has been completed, the area can be put back into use. Activity in the room will have to be temporarily suspended till this process has been completed.
Any public areas where a symptomatic or COVID-19 diagnosed individual has only passed through (spent minimal time in), e.g. corridors, and which are not visibly contaminated with any body fluids, do not need to be further decontaminated beyond routine cleaning processes.
Points to keep in mind:
• Self-isolation may be required on more than one occasion.
• NHS contact tracers may require someone to self-isolate even if they have previously tested positive for coronavirus and have recovered.
• Covid-19 could affect any of us so please remember to be supportive to anyone who may be affected.
• If we follow the social distancing guidance, hand hygiene guidance and other measures such as wearing face coverings we are less likely to be affected and therefore less likely to need additional measures that could affect our studies or work.
For new students coming to RCS from outside the Common Travel Area (UK and Islands + the Republic of Ireland), the requirement to enter managed isolation (quarantine in a hotel) or self-isolate at home (or wherever you are planning to stay) in Scotland, depends on whether you are:
Please note the pre-flight testing requirements on the above links and the list of acute risk countries. If you have travelled through an acute risk country within the 10 day period before travelling to the UK this may affect your ability enter. UKCISA explain the details of this further.
The Scottish goverment has published a comprehensive guide to International Travel and Managed Isolation
Under the rules currently in place, passengers travelling from – or transiting through – a Red List country, are be required to undertake a 10-day/11-night ‘managed quarantine’ at a designated hotel. We recommend considering this when you plan your journey.
