Some Drama Schools have their own scholarships or bursaries to cover course fees for selected students. Applicants should contact the drama schools directly to find out whether they qualify, preferably at the time of first application.

It may be possible to secure a Career Development Loan, a scheme available to people looking to train in order to enhance their careers or make a career change. Information is available at www.direct.gov.uk or www.lifelonglearning.co.uk. CDLs are an agreement between the Learning and Skills Council and high street banks. While the student is on the course, the LSC pays the interest that accrues, and the first repayment instalment on the loan is due up to five months after graduation.

It is also possible to raise some funds from charities, trusts and foundations. View our Fundraising Factsheet, which brings together information on the main books, publications and organisations. Raising funds in this way is hard work, and rewards careful research, as remits for funding tend to be highly specific. For a taste of how determined you must be, download this pamphlet by Damian Gaskin, who raised £40,000 so that he could attend drama school. Though the funding system has changed since he applied in 1993 (when grants were the norm, and discretionary for drama students), it nonetheless provides an insight into the practicalities of fundraising. He writes:

'Exactly how determined am I to train?'… You must really want to succeed with a passion because although most of my methods will prove successful, things will seem terribly demoralizing at first, will get worse before they get better and you will, out of necessity, leave yourself open to a huge amount of ignorant and misguided criticism.