CSVPA · Performing arts
The other half of CSVPA. Conservatoire-style rooms in Cambridge — a monologue, a song, a piece of music. National Theatre Connections. Recitals in University of Cambridge rooms. Head of Drama: Rachel Ellis.
Art & Design is the garment, the brand, the space, the page. Performing arts is the body and the voice. CSVPA holds both. The file is a monologue, a song, or a music piece — not a portfolio of drawings, unless the student is already crossing.
Two years · 16+
Conservatoire-style actor training. Confidence, stamina, the willingness to experiment. Regular one-to-one acting and singing. Live performance throughout. IELTS 5.0, with 5.0 in speaking.
Acting, voice, text, phonetics, movement, scene study, dance, group singing, hand drumming, theatre in context, audition preparation.
Two years · 16+
Classical Performance, or Pop Performance & Music Production. Composition, theory, recording. Masterclasses. One-to-one instrument tuition. End-of-year recitals in University of Cambridge rooms and in the city.
Composition, musicianship, studio skills, history, hand drumming, theory, ensemble, aural, 1:1 tuition.
Foundation · one year · 17+
A concentrated acting year. Physical, emotional, intellectual. Audition preparation for UK drama schools. IELTS 5.5.
Acting, voice, text, phonetics, movement, scene study, commercial and ballet, theatre in context, 1:1 acting.
Foundation · one year · 17+
Voice, dance, movement, acting — three disciplines in one conservatoire-style year. Jazz, commercial, ballet, contemporary. Pathway leader Elizabeth Nantais, Dean of Student Experience.
Acting, group singing, musical theatre repertoire and history, jazz, commercial, ballet, contemporary, 1:1 acting and singing.
Foundation · one year · 17+
The one-year version of the music diploma. Classical, or pop and production. Recitals at the University of Cambridge. Pathway leader Vijay Prakash — Chetham’s, Cambridge, Guildhall.
Composition, studio, history, theory, ensemble, aural, 1:1 in the main instrument or area of study.
Highlight · National Theatre Connections 2026
Connections is the National Theatre’s nationwide youth festival. Each year it commissions new plays for young performers. CSVPA drama staged Wildfire Road — a striking, affecting production, written for this generation of theatre-makers. Rachel Ellis, Head of Drama, is an associate of the National Youth Theatre and of the Shakespeare Schools Festival. The room already knows the audition.
Conservatoire offers
Guildhall ranked third in the world for performing arts. Four offers from RCSSD, three of them unconditional. Music recitals are held in professional venues at the University of Cambridge and in the city — not only in the college theatre. Lina and Kat took Honourable Mention at Jesus College’s 48-hour film challenge for Bobbie’s Boy, a fashion student and a drama student in the same 48 hours.
Extended Diploma from 16 — after Hong Kong F.4, UK Year 11, or typically Grade 10 — with a monologue, a song, or a music piece. Foundation from 17, after F.5, A-level, or a Grade 12 diploma, with an audition. IELTS 4.5 is the floor on music; drama asks 5.0 on the Extended Diploma and 5.5 on the Foundation. We will not push a door that does not fit the year.
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