Hansard

I have had a case from a constituent regarding their daughter, who was an accomplished dancer who had sought to obtain a place at the Royal Conservatoire. Their experience was very much in line with what is described by the petitioner; namely, that although she appeared to have the credentials and skill to earn a place, the places were being given mostly to candidates from elsewhere in the UK. There appeared to be, I think—it was a few years back—evidence that the Royal Conservatoire is very closely linked with one particular establishment in England, many candidates from which gain places at the Royal Conservatoire. I am not in a position to make a judgment, other than to say that it seemed to me, from correspondence that I had with the Royal Conservatoire at the time, that there is a serious problem and that Scottish candidates are not getting into the Royal Conservatoire. I got a reply from the management of the Royal Conservatoire. I have to say that, in my recollection, it was quite dismissive of the concerns, which disappointed me. At the end of the day, I am not sure that we have a locus to act, or how we could act. However, surely the situation is wrong in principle. Qualified young people in Scotland, who wish to pursue a career in the specialist area of ballet, and who in every case have devoted their childhood and adolescence to spending hundreds—if not thousands—of hours trying to get into a very limited pool of places, should at least have the chance to get into the ballet school in their own country. Because of my experience, which I admit is anecdotal, I think that we should pursue the matter with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s ballet department and ask it to provide evidence about the number of applicants from Scotland and the number who have been accepted over, say, the past 10 years, and evidence about other candidates who have been accepted and from whence they have come. There are, perhaps, a limited number of cases with only a few people involved, but I am aware that the issue caused one particular family real heartache and disappointment with the system as it operates in Scotland.