Bristol Old Vic Theatre School has announced that it will no longer offer undergraduate courses from September 2025.
The drama school will shut its doors to undergraduates following a "challenging" period which has made its "undergraduate training model financially unsustainable".
The South West institution was founded 80 years ago and works closely with the University of the West of England, its degree validating body.
Fiona Francombe, Principal & CEO of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, said: “along with many arts and higher education organisations, we are facing unprecedented funding challenges which we need to address as our current training model, focusing on teaching undergraduate degree courses, is not viable in the future.
“As a result, we will no longer be offering undergraduate training from September ’25 but will continue to provide postgraduate training and other courses. By taking this decision now, we are able to plan for the next two academic years calmly, and with our students’ best interests at heart.
“It is our intention to create a long-term sustainable future for the school where we can deliver high calibre training for which the school is renowned, but we need time and space to work through the options and our current focus must be on existing students and staff.
"We have always been known for producing extraordinary work, training wonderfully talented people, and reaching audiences of all ages. This legacy will continue as we begin this new chapter of our story.”
It will continue to offer postgraduate courses, including MFA Professional Acting, MFA Professional Voice Studies, MA Screen Acting, MA Drama Directing, MA Drama Writing and MA Performance Design.
The well-trodden boards have seen some of the stage's finest actors come through, including Daniel Day-Lewis, Mark Strong, Olivia Colman, Jeremy Irons and recent graduates such as Josh O'Connor, Erin Doherty and Theo James.
The full statement is on the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School web site.