The Student Room Group

What are each of the Art Foundation courses in London like?

My list of ones I have come across so far:
- Kingston
- City & Guilds
- Camberwell
- Central St. Martins
- Royal College of Arts
- Goldsmiths
- Ravensbourne
- Royal Drawing School
- London College of Communications
- Chelsea

(feel free to let me know if I have missed out any Art Foundation courses in London, have mistakenly included one that is not in London or does not offer a Foundation course...)


If you know anything about any of these (or about any that should be on the list but aren't yet), whether from personal experience, indirect experience, or just from what the vague consensus/word seems to be about any of them, I would be so grateful to hear about it.

e.g.
- What area/specialism are they best for?
- Are any of them not so good for any particular areas/specialisms?
- What is the site like? (ugly? pleasant? atmosphere? size? etc.)
- How are the facilities/equipment?
- Does it differ in any way from other courses + how they are/feel/work?
- How intense/relaxed is it?
- What are the tutors like?
- How much guidance/support are you given?
- What do the people that attend tend to be like?
- What was your experience there like?
- How do they compare with each other (like if you went to one of them, and know someone that went to a different one of them, what did the main differences seem to be between the two?)
etc. etc. etc. ...

Basically if you know anything about any of them that might even slightly help me decide what is most appealing and most right for me, please share it!
- Kingston - still offered
- City & Guilds - not free for UK students
- Camberwell - no longer offered
- Central St. Martins - no longer offered
- Royal College of Arts - don't offer a FAD
- Goldsmiths - don't offer a FAD
- Ravensbourne - available, 100% digital art
- Royal Drawing School - no longer offered
- London College of Communications - no longer offered
- Chelsea - no longer offered


of the places listed only
Kingston, City & Guilds and Ravensbourne offer a FAD course

UAL has moved all of their FAD courses out of other colleges and into a dedicated "UAL School of Pre-degree Studies" based at Lime Grove (former site of LCF) https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/communication-and-graphic-design/pre-degree-courses/ual-foundation-diploma-in-art-and-design

Do you have any thoughts on what specialism you might want to go into or any specific media? Any thoughts on what you want to do post-FAD?

Are you asking about London because you currently live there or for another reason?
Reply 2
Oh, oopsies I didn't realise that loads of the ones I put were not free for UK students, or don't even offer a FAD... Thanks for letting me know.

I also didn't know about UAL moving their FAD courses into just one school in Lime Grove, and my teacher says he didn't know about this either.
Does this mean that in terms of application, there is only one UAL FAD to apply to? So I wouldn't need to choose between applying to either CSM or CCW?
Also if you have any further information about this change in UAL's FADs, please let me know.

I am not sure what specialism I want to go into, or what kind of media. Not too digital-based, not too fashion-based - but that being said, I would like to try both of these a bit, and perhaps incorporate them into my art at some point (but just not focusing strongly on them). I plan on doing Diagnostic mode because of my current uncertainty and indecisiveness.

Currently I am living in London, and would like to do a FAD that is based in London so that I can continue living at home fo the duration of the course.
Original post by greenthing
Oh, oopsies I didn't realise that loads of the ones I put were not free for UK students, or don't even offer a FAD... Thanks for letting me know.

I also didn't know about UAL moving their FAD courses into just one school in Lime Grove, and my teacher says he didn't know about this either.
Does this mean that in terms of application, there is only one UAL FAD to apply to? So I wouldn't need to choose between applying to either CSM or CCW?
Also if you have any further information about this change in UAL's FADs, please let me know.

I am not sure what specialism I want to go into, or what kind of media. Not too digital-based, not too fashion-based - but that being said, I would like to try both of these a bit, and perhaps incorporate them into my art at some point (but just not focusing strongly on them). I plan on doing Diagnostic mode because of my current uncertainty and indecisiveness.

Currently I am living in London, and would like to do a FAD that is based in London so that I can continue living at home fo the duration of the course.

There’s some fantastic FE colleges in London that offer FAD courses. You could have a great experience in a college instead of a university.
Have you looked at Morley College in Chelsea? They offer a UAL Level 4 art foundation course which is free. The advantage of Morley is that classes are much smaller than CSM for example so you have more individual attention, and they are close to lots of art galleries and museums etc. Friendly atmosphere and dedicated teachers. My daughter is currently in her second term and enjoying it.
Original post by greenthing
My list of ones I have come across so far:
- Kingston
- City & Guilds
- Camberwell
- Central St. Martins
- Royal College of Arts
- Goldsmiths
- Ravensbourne
- Royal Drawing School
- London College of Communications
- Chelsea
(feel free to let me know if I have missed out any Art Foundation courses in London, have mistakenly included one that is not in London or does not offer a Foundation course...)
If you know anything about any of these (or about any that should be on the list but aren't yet), whether from personal experience, indirect experience, or just from what the vague consensus/word seems to be about any of them, I would be so grateful to hear about it.
e.g.
- What area/specialism are they best for?
- Are any of them not so good for any particular areas/specialisms?
- What is the site like? (ugly? pleasant? atmosphere? size? etc.)
- How are the facilities/equipment?
- Does it differ in any way from other courses + how they are/feel/work?
- How intense/relaxed is it?
- What are the tutors like?
- How much guidance/support are you given?
- What do the people that attend tend to be like?
- What was your experience there like?
- How do they compare with each other (like if you went to one of them, and know someone that went to a different one of them, what did the main differences seem to be between the two?)
etc. etc. etc. ...
Basically if you know anything about any of them that might even slightly help me decide what is most appealing and most right for me, please share it!

Hi @greenthing

You are correct we do offer an Art Foundation course!

To answer a few of your questions:
This is a one year course as part of our Kingston School of Art. Throughout the course, 6 subjects are covered: Visual Communication; Fashion and fabrication; 3D Design; Moving Image; Fine Art, and Work Out. This provides you an insight into lots of different areas and what sparks your interest that you might not have thought of before! A major plus is that as a foundation student you will still have open access to all of our workshop areas from bookmaking to photography- these facilities are amazing to make use of and are what personally drew me into the uni!

I really love the location of Kingston while having easy access to Central London but a calmer environment with all of my fave shops. It is also a lovely environment by the river and especially within the local parks.

I have added a link below for further research if you wanted to look into it:
https://www.kingston.ac.uk/faculties/kingston-school-of-art/study/foundation-studies/

I hope this helped and please let me know if you have any questions :smile:

-Yasmin (Kingston Rep)
Original post by greenthing
Oh, oopsies I didn't realise that loads of the ones I put were not free for UK students, or don't even offer a FAD... Thanks for letting me know.
I also didn't know about UAL moving their FAD courses into just one school in Lime Grove, and my teacher says he didn't know about this either.
Does this mean that in terms of application, there is only one UAL FAD to apply to? So I wouldn't need to choose between applying to either CSM or CCW?
Also if you have any further information about this change in UAL's FADs, please let me know.
I am not sure what specialism I want to go into, or what kind of media. Not too digital-based, not too fashion-based - but that being said, I would like to try both of these a bit, and perhaps incorporate them into my art at some point (but just not focusing strongly on them). I plan on doing Diagnostic mode because of my current uncertainty and indecisiveness.
Currently I am living in London, and would like to do a FAD that is based in London so that I can continue living at home fo the duration of the course.
Hi,

I'm currently on the UAL FAD. Yes, UAL combined both CCW and CSM foundation courses, so there is only one foundation course at UAL. The main pre-degree campus is Lime Grove, but depending on your specialism, you will be on the Archway CSM campus or Lime Grove campus.

Hope this helps.
Original post by studyc0r3
Hi,

I'm currently on the UAL FAD. Yes, UAL combined both CCW and CSM foundation courses, so there is only one foundation course at UAL. The main pre-degree campus is Lime Grove, but depending on your specialism, you will be on the Archway CSM campus or Lime Grove campus.

Hope this helps.

the Archway specialisms seems to have been a temporary thing. UAL now state all students will be taught 100% at Lime Grove

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