Our work with Higher Education and Cardiff University

Music Mark has been championing music education for over 12 years, working hard to ensure that all children and young people can access instrumental and vocal tuition as well as curricular learning throughout their schooling. We’ve also worked closely with higher education institutions, including conservatoires, music departments in universities, and in FE, recognising that they are all key links in the cycle of learning and training to ensure a person is able to build their life with music at the centre.

Pupils who want to develop their learning post-18 need places to go to do so, and the music education workforce needs these Higher Education institutions to be training our next generation of teachers! Of course, not everyone who studies music will go into what is often called ‘the industry’, a music qualification, at whatever level, will provide skills and experiences which enrich people’s lives, giving them a range of skills in creativity and critical thinking that are so vital, not least in graduate employment! We need to ensure this vital pathway, this important link, continues to be available.

News over the past few years of each institution that has cut back or closed their music department has been heartbreaking, as we recognise the impact not only on individuals and their local areas, but also on future students who want to study music. The impact on music education is obvious – fewer opportunities to study music restrict the choices and chances of future students. We can already see the long-term impact of decisions by universities across the UK, in the difficulties being reported in recruiting music educators, as well as other impacts across the interlinked music industries.

We were honoured to be able to take over the role of representing Higher Education Institutions who teach music in 2024 as we folded MusicHE into our membership and joined the Arts and Humanities Alliance, a community of subject associations working across HE. We have continued MusicHE’s legacy of promoting and supporting colleagues. We continued to be aware of colleagues that were fearful for the stability of their jobs and departments as we heard rumours of various university consultations and possible closures.

The news in January 2025 that Cardiff University was threatening to close its music school made headlines across the UK and became something of a tipping point, highlighting the previous years’ cuts across the country in Goldsmiths, Oxford Brookes, Kent and Wolverhampton. Here was a proposal that would, for the first time, leave a UK capital city without a university music department.

Cardiff University

At Cardiff, the proposals were part of larger cuts across the university. For some, there was a hollow sense of inevitability, and yet everyone – including Music Mark – was keen to try and fight for the department, recognising its significance and value in Wales and beyond. Letters were written, petitions signed and demonstrations – musical and otherwise – held. The significance of the impact of Cardiff’s music department became apparent through the high-profile voices who joined the outcry. Many great musicians who we celebrate have been through the UK university and conservatoire system, a system which now appears to be so fragile. What about future musicians, teachers, composers and educators (to name a few)? How will they get their chances if departments are closed and courses cut?

After pressure from organisations across the music education sector, Cardiff University announced a rethink on its plans to close the school of music. While the public outcry was noticed and will have had an impact, it was the work behind the scenes that was hugely important. Working with colleagues within the department, we considered the reasons given for the cut of the music school. Primarily linked to funding, recruitment and relevant career pathways for graduates, it was important to look at the statistics the university needed to be seeing as they made their decisions. The delayed effects of the Covid pandemic on recruitment needed emphasis, as did the strong post-Covid recovery now rippling up through music education. But just as important to point out was Cardiff’s role in the cycle of provision envisaged by the Welsh Government’s National Plan for Music Education. Clear communication about the value of the degrees offered, the career opportunities these qualifications might provide and consideration of future trends were discussed and proposals sent. Whilst there will be many voices that will have helped to create the ‘u-turn’ which was announced in May 2025, the proposals backed by clear arguments and statistics are likely to have been the most influential.

Here at Music Mark, we are continuing to learn from this experience, and share our findings with other subject associations. We will continue to support and promote other departments who are or will face similar challenges. We need to tell the story of not only the current cohort of students who value and need the courses being provided, but also the successes of the alumni, the career pathways they have taken. Finally reflecting on where music sits within an institution – is it seen as an easy target without full understanding of its role and its value more broadly? We will therefore continue to work with our HE members to help them celebrate the positive impact music qualifications have on the wider success of their universities.