The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) – recognised as one of the world’s leading performing arts conservatoires – generates £5 in economic and social value for every £1 of public funding it receives, according to a new independent report published today.

The Economic and Wellbeing Impact Assessment, carried out by BiGGAR Economics, finds that RCS contributed £64.4 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Scottish economy and supported 1,650 jobs in 2024/25.

Alongside this, the report puts a monetary value on the wellbeing generated by RCS for students, graduates, staff and audiences, worth a further £16.3 million.

Overall, for every £1 of public funding, RCS generates £4 in economic impact and an additional £1 in wellbeing benefits for the Scottish economy.

Key findings

• RCS generated £64.4 million GVA and supported 1,650 jobs across Scotland in 2024/25, of which 74% was concentrated in Glasgow.
• The wellbeing contribution of RCS, measured using the UK Treasury’s WELLBY methodology, was valued at £16.3 million, covering students, graduates, staff, young musicians and audiences.
• Over 60% of surveyed RCS graduates go on to self-employment or start their own businesses (HESA 23/24 survey) well above the UK graduate average of between 5 and 12 per cent, underlining the conservatoire’s role as an entrepreneurial engine for Scotland’s creative economy.
• More than 40,000 tickets were sold for RCS performances and events in 2024/25.
• RCS worked with 3187 pupils, students, teachers, communities, families and care givers across 28 of Scotland’s local council areas via its Transitions programme, Widening Access to the Creative Industries (WACI) outreach, targeted and specialist Fair Access activity (e.g. supporting care experienced young people).
• RCS engaged with students from 72 secondary schools and 11 colleges in Scotland and 2 universities making a total of 83 formal education establishments.[1]

Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, Principal, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland said: “This new independent analysis puts a clear number on something we see every day – that RCS doesn’t simply identify and train the next generation of performers, we generate jobs, income and social benefits right across Scotland and well beyond from our studios and practice rooms in Glasgow.

“This report underlines the absolutely critical role RCS plays in powering Scotland’s £5.7 billion creative industries sector , and it does so while helping build the creative supercluster that is putting Glasgow and Scotland on the world stage.”

RCS’s importance to Scotland’s creative economy goes well beyond the value it generates directly.

The report identifies RCS as a foundation of Glasgow’s wider creative cluster, sitting within two square miles of the city’s other leading cultural institutions, and as being part of the talent pipeline for Scotland’s National Performing Companies, including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet, and the wider cultural sector.

With 41 per cent of graduates going directly into arts, entertainment and recreation roles, and 60 per cent registering as self-employed, RCS is supplying the workforce that keeps Scotland’s wider £5.7 billion arts, culture and creative industries sector staffed and growing.

RCS sustains formal partnerships with Scotland’s National Performing Companies, including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and acts as a central – and critical – talent pipeline for Scotland’s creative sector.