Girl playing the harp

MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT to British Private Schools

We’re Britain's only music-specialist scholarship advisory service and supports students to achieve music scholarships to private schools. 

We’ve Supported 400+ Students to Achieve Music Scholarships

Supported students to gain music scholarships to Eton College, Charterhouse, St Paul’s Girls’ School, Harrow School and Westminster School, among others

Ralph Allwood MBE, Ex-Director of Music at Eton College for 26 years, leads our Music Scholarship team

We Offer

  • Private lessons from specialist music scholarship teachers 

  • Consultations with Ralph Allwood MBE

  • Mock scholarship auditions 

  • Personalised shortlist of scholarships suited to your child

  • Year-long bespoke scholarship plan for your child

Eton College main tower

Music scholarships are extremely competitive

Some schools award only a few a year.

With music scholarships being worth up to £50,000 per year, schools understandably look for exceptional musical potential. 

But with schools not publishing audition assessment guidelines, having different assessment criteria and different scholarship application processes, parents are often left asking:

  • What pieces should my child choose for their audition? 

  • What is the best way for my child to prepare for an audition? 

  • When should I start thinking about a music scholarship for my child? 

  • What level of sightreading does my child require?  

  • Are my child's aural skills at the right level? 

  • What instruments stand my child in best stead for being awarded a scholarship? 

  • Is a high ABRSM grade enough to be awarded a music scholarship? 

  • What is in a music scholarship written exam paper? 

Our specialist scholarship advisors have made resources that cover most of these questions, but for those who want a more personalised approach, you’ll want to speak to a specialist, like Ralph Allwood. 

We’re a one-stop destination for parents looking for music scholarship help for their children 

BESPOKE SUPPORT FOR YOUR CHILD

Our music Scholarship Services

Private Lessons From Specialist Music Scholarship Teachers 

From £75 per hour

Our teachers have supported 400+ students gain music scholarships to leading private schools, including Eton College, Westminster School and St Paul’s.

  • 100% of our music teachers hold a degree from a world-leading conservatoire and 56% have a master’s degree, giving you peace of mind that your child is receiving support from some of the world’s best music teachers 

  • Our teachers have on average 7 years of teaching experience, meaning your child will progress without fear of learning bad habits

  • Having completed a more rigorous vetting process than any other music tutoring agency in Britain, our teachers are among the most trusted in the UK

Meet Ralph Allwood MBE – Senior Scholarship Advisor

Senior Scholarship Advisor £295 per hour

Ralph Allwood is Britain’s leading authority on music scholarships, having been Director of Music at Eton College for 26 years. He knows exactly what is required to succeed in scholarship auditions, and has sat on scholarship audition panels at private schools for four decades. 

  • Meeting Ralph is ideal for families at any stage of the music scholarship process, from those who are at the early stages of thinking about music scholarship, to those who are looking for last minute support with their application. 

  • When meeting with Ralph, you can expect: 

    • Personalised advice specific to your child and their prospective school 

    • An in-class assessment to determine their strength and weaknesses, with advice on what students need to improve 

    • Access to unrivalled information on music scholarships

Scholarship Advisor £295 per hour

Our scholarship advisors include teachers from various music education backgrounds, including teachers at leading private schools and conservatoires.

Mock Scholarship Audition

Senior Scholarship Advisor £295 per hour

Scholarship Advisor £195 per hour

Our realistic music scholarship mock auditions are a fantastic way to receive immediate feedback and calm nerves for students who have never experienced an audition before

  • All auditions include a practical audition component, sight reading and aural test

  • Our mock scholarship auditions are only run by our most experienced music scholarship specialists

Personalised Music Scholarship Shortlists

£395

Led by Ralph Allwood, and following an in-depth meeting and assessment, we’ll provide you with a personalised shortlist of scholarships suited to your child and help you to understand the procedure for applying.

Multi-year bespoke scholarship plans

£1,900 per year

Led by Ralph Allwood, and in addition to the scholarship shortlist, Ralph will create a bespoke scholarship plan for your child and Prelude Education will put in place the private music teachers to support the implementation of the plan.

  • Ralph will then provide on-going termly support across four terms, with one 1-1 meeting per term. Prelude Education will also arrange the facilities for any audition tapes and/or recordings; for mock aural exams; mock auditions; and complete all scholarship application paperwork on your behalf.

  • The scholarship package is a year-long package but can be extended. The cost of private music teachers is not included in the package.

get support from Britain's only music-specialist scholarship advisory service

FAQs

  • Music scholarship support is for families at any stage of the music scholarship application process, whether you’re only just starting to think about scholarships but are unsure what your next step should be, or are weeks away from the audition and are looking for audition-specific support.

  • Prelude Education is a bespoke music tutoring agency specialising in private music tuition and music scholarship support.

    We believe that most models of private music tuition are failing both students and teachers.

    Students are struggling to find music teachers who are not only excellent musicians but also brilliant teachers.

    And teachers are severely undervalued, driving down quality in teaching and leading to burn out.

    Frustrated by this, we decided to build a bespoke music education service, providing everything from 1-1 music tuition to music scholarship advisory.

    In short, we pay musicians what they’re worth, provide students the high-quality teaching that they deserve, and wrap this into a highly personalised service.

  • Music scholarships are awards made to students who are able to demonstrate remarkable musical talent and potential, and often involve either a remission in fees or free music tuition, or both.

  • Music scholarships are worth anything from from 120 minutes of free music tuition a week or a 5-10% remission on fees, to full scholarships which cover 100% of the school fees.

  • Provided your child is on track to hit the minimum requirements for a music scholarship – e.g. grade 5 by the 11+ entry point – then they would ideally need two years to prepare but even just one year should be fine.

  • There is no straightforward answer here. Not only does each school differ in what they look for but it is also notoriously difficult to measure potential and each school has their own metric.

    We would advise the following:

    Speak to your child’s current music teacher and their Director of Music. See what they think and get their honest opinion.

    Speaking to a music scholarship advisor can be invaluable here too, and Prelude Education can provide you with the right advice at the right time.

    For more information on music scholarships, check out our Ultimate Guide to Music Scholarships

  • We are always on the lookout for brilliant music teachers.

    To apply to work with us, visit our Become a Teacher page to read more about the benefits of being a teacher with Prelude Education and our selection criteria.

    When applying, we’ll ask you to fill out an application form and then we’ll review it as soon as possible before inviting you for an interview.

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