Schools' Hub

Saturday Art School Funded Places

We're committed to equal access to creative education and careers. As such, each academic year we're delighted to offer a limited number of funded places on our Saturday Art School courses.

Funded places are only available for Spring and Autumn term and the young person must be aged 10-15 at the start date of the course (subject to individual course age range). Please see the eligibility criteria below.

Applications for Autumn 2025 are now open! All applicants will be contacted by email by mid-July 2025 at the latest with the outcome of their application.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with our friendly team.

Apply now Get in touch

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for a funded place on one of our Saturday Art School courses, students must meet at least one of the following criteria:

They're currently in receipt of Free School Meals or eligible for Free School Meal if home schooled
They're in local authority care or looked after for three months or more
They're a Young Carer
They're from a Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Showman, or Boater community
They have a parent who's served, or is currently serving, in the UK armed forces
They're studying at an alternative provision
Current home postcode shows that you live in an area with low levels of progression to Higher Education falling within TUNDRA LSOA quintiles 1 and 2.
Current home postcode shows that you live in an area that falls within the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintiles 1,2,3, or 4.

Eligibility for the TUNDRA LSOA measure can be checked on the OfS website (postcodes in quintiles 1 and 2 qualify). Eligibility for the Index of Multiple Deprivation measure can be checked via the IMD postcode checker (postcodes in IMD quintiles 1, 2, 3 and 4 qualify).

Choose your Saturday Art School course

Courses for 10-12 yrs

Our courses for blossoming artists as young as 10 years-old will help them explore their creativity, harness their imaginations, and gain confidence in creating and sharing their work. No art and design experience is necessary; all we ask is students come with buckets of enthusiasm.

A person painting horizontal strokes on a piece of paper attached to a clipboard.

Creative Artists

This practical course has been designed specially for 10–12-year-olds to have fun with their creativity and learn new art and design skills.

Digital Character Design

On this course young artists aged 10-12 will develop digital drawing skills to create exciting characters.

Courses for 11-15 yrs

We offer a range of courses to enable budding artists aged 11-15 to develop skills in a range of different creative disciplines either to find their creative calling or simply enjoy learning new skills. Students don’t need to already be experts in their chosen subject, all we ask is that students come with enthusiasm for learning new things.

Photo of a road at night with a multi-coloured light rail going through it.

Digital Photography – an Introduction (stage 1)

Our creative digital photography course teaches students aged 11–15 years-old fundamental photography skills in a fun and inspirational way.

Simply Drawing!

On this 8-week course, your young artist will have the chance to simply learn how to draw, developing their skills and artistic ability.

A sketchbook with a colourful painting of a human face half-covered with flowers.

Art and Design using Mixed Media

This imaginative course gives young artists aged 12–15 the chance to experiment with different art forms to identify their specialist area.

Animation – an Introduction (stage 1)

In this hands-on course, budding animators aged 12–15 will let their imaginations free as they learn the fundamentals of animation.

Clapper board lying on a stone floor. Film title reads "Deep Water".

Digital Filmmaking – an Introduction

In this creative course young filmmakers aged 12–15 will gain hands-on experience in writing, filming and editing their own material.

Modelmaking – an Introduction (Stage 1)

In this fun and imaginative course students aged 12–15 will learn a variety of new skills in modelmaking and create unique 3D designs.

Graphic and Digital Design

In this dynamic course, young designers aged 12–15 will harness their creativity, gain confidence and develop their graphic design skills.

Young Future Creators – Exploring the world of VR, AR, and AI

This futuristic course will introduce artists to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI).

Special FX Make-up (stage 1)

This highly creative course is for budding make-up artists aged 12–15, to provide an insight into special effects make-up for media.

Fashion Design and Styling (Stage 1)

This hands-on course gives budding fashion designers aged 12–15 the chance to learn the fundamental skills of fashion design and styling.

Why study at Saturday Art School?

Unlock creative talent

We understand how important young creative artists are – they've so much potential, untapped abilities, and enthusiasm. At Saturday Art School they’ll be supported to fully explore their creative talent and future potential, whilst being themselves.

Learn from the best

All our tutors are experts in their creative fields and love sharing their skills; their passion for their craft is infectious. Our young artists will learn in an encouraging, inclusive, and supportive environment, where there’s no right or wrong way to be creative.

Study at a specialist institution

We’re proud to be the UK’s top specialist art and design university. We invest heavily in technology and spaces to best equip our students during their time with us, as such our young artists will have access to our industry-standard resources and learn in our state-of-the-art studios. All course materials are included in the funded course fee.

Start your creative journey

We welcome young artists aged 7–18 (age restrictions applicable by course) of all abilities, from beginners to experienced creatives. In fact, many of our students continue to study with us for years to come. We offer a range of portfolio preparation courses to help prepare young artists to continue their creative studies at foundation or undergraduate level.