Our mission at The Purcell School is to provide young musicians who demonstrate the potential to become exceptional (irrespective of background) with outstanding teaching within a supportive school environment and to equip them with the self-confidence, adaptability, maturity and perspective to sustain their professional development and personal fulfilment throughout their lives.
As far as is practical, we aim to minimise the financial barriers to a student’s music education through the means-tested bursaries we offer – the Government’s Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) for UK residents and our School Bursary Fund for international students.
A summary of fees, as well as information relating to both the MDS Scheme and the School Bursary Fund, can be found below. For further information about our fees or bursaries, please contact admissions@purcell-school.org.
Summary of Fees
School fees from September 2024:
| Annual | Termly | |
| Boarding | £43,479 plus VAT | £14,493 plus VAT |
| Day | £34,053 plus VAT | £11,351 plus VAT |
Information about our bursary schemes can be found further down this page.
Update 16.11.24 – Value Added Tax (VAT)
In its budget statement on 30th October 2024, the UK Government confirmed that Value Added Tax (VAT) will be applicable to school fees from January 1st 2025. Prospective parents are therefore advised to consider the impact of this when assessing the affordability of accepting a place at the school. Please read the following carefully:
VAT for MDS Families
VAT will apply to the Music and Dance Scheme. The Government has not yet confirmed its arrangements for MDS from September 2025 onwards. Under the current “transitional arrangements” for the 2024-25 academic year, families with a combined household income of less than £45,000pa will have their VAT charge covered by the MDS award and therefore only the level of parental contribution indicated above will be payable. Families with a combined household income of over £45,000pa will incur a 20% VAT charge on top of their parental contribution. The 20% charge is calculated at the level of parental contribution. Therefore, under the current arrangement, a parental contribution of £10,000 will incur an additional VAT payment of £2,000.
VAT for Non-MDS Families
A 20% VAT charge will be applied to the fees paid by all non-MDS families. Where the School awards a fee discount via a bursary, the VAT is calculated on the amount payable not on the total non-discounted fee.
Music and Dance Scheme
The vast majority of our UK students (approximately 80%) do not pay full fees, and some pay nothing at all. This is made possible for UK residents by the Department for Education’s Music & Dance Scheme (MDS) which is means-tested.
To be eligible for a place on the Music and Dance Scheme, students must have been resident in the UK for at least two years preceding the first of January of the school year for which they are applying (i.e for September 2025 applications, the student must have been resident in the UK from 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2024).
The table below gives an indication of approximately how much parents will be asked to pay but, as a guide, if the gross household income is less than £15,000 a year, parents will pay nothing towards the school fees.
There is a sliding scale for contributions towards fees, based on the household income, in between these figures.
Approximate fee contributions for MDS students:
| Gross Family Income/Annum | Annual Contribution to be made by Parent | |
| Day | Boarding | |
| £10,000 | £0 | £0 |
| £15,000 | £0 | £93 plus VAT |
| £20,000 | £333 plus VAT | £567 plus VAT |
| £25,000 | £888 plus VAT | £1,122 plus VAT |
| £30,000 | £1,443 plus VAT | £1,809 plus VAT |
| £35,000 | £1,998 plus VAT | £2,475 plus VAT |
| £40,000 | £2,553 plus VAT | £3,279 plus VAT |
| £45,000 | £3,108 plus VAT | £4,086 plus VAT |
| £50,000 | £3,678 plus VAT | £4,938 plus VAT |
| £55,000 | £4,284 plus VAT | £5,892 plus VAT |
| £60,000 | £5,028 plus VAT | £6,846 plus VAT |
| £70,000 | £6,549 plus VAT | £8,766 plus VAT |
| £80,000 | £8,160 plus VAT | £10,776 plus VAT |
| £100,000 | £11,379 plus VAT | £14,964 plus VAT |
| £120,000 | £14,601 plus VAT | £19,185 plus VAT |
| £150,000 | £19,431 plus VAT | £25,515 plus VAT |
| £185,000 | £25,065 plus VAT | £32,901 plus VAT |
| £190,000 | £25,869 plus VAT | £33,954 plus VAT |
| £195,000 | £26,676 plus VAT | £35,010 plus VAT |
| £200,000 | £27,480 plus VAT | £36,066 plus VAT |
| £200,000 | £27,480 plus VAT | £36,066 plus VAT |
| £205,000 | £28,284 plus VAT | £37,119 plus VAT |
School Bursary Fund
Students who are not eligible for the Music and Dance Scheme may apply to the School Bursary Fund. This is a limited, means-tested bursary, with the level of funding determined by each student’s household financial circumstances and the overall number of applications received.
Please note that the income and parental contributions outlined in the above table refer only to the MDS scheme and not to the School Bursary Fund.
If you wish to apply to the School’s Bursary Fund, please state this in your application.
