Additional course fees

Approx costs: £100-200 per year

Annual material and print costs depend on your selected pathway and choice of project.

Please note that printing costs in the final year may be higher depending on the project, technique and materials used.

Approx costs: £250-450

Study trips provide valuable opportunities to immerse yourself in a new culture, recognise social differences and understand local lifestyles.

The experiences will not only enrich your practical learning whilst travelling, but the real-world experiences will continue to enhance your learning long after returning to your studies.

Please note, the trips are optional and the cost is dependent on the place of visit and student numbers.

Approx costs: £350-1000 (if purchasing from new)

The costs of purchasing a new camera vary according to the make and model. If you don't have a camera but are aiming to buy one, you are advised to wait for the start of the course when you will be able to seek advice.

You will require an analogue 35mm SLR, a digital SLR or a mirrorless digital camera, plus 50mm standard lens or zoom to start with. The camera should be able to shoot RAW and have a fully manual mode.

Once you start the course, you will be able to loan out photographic cameras and lights (free of charge). These range from mirrorless 47mp Panasonic Lumix S1r’s to Ebony 5x4” (analogue) technical field cameras. You can also buy consumables (film/ paper).

Cost variable (depending on make and model)

Having your own laptop offers flexibility. The school mostly uses Apple Macs, so it is important you become informed about the operating systems and architecture of Macs.

That said, they are more expensive and PCs/laptops can run most of the software we utilise (a very good graphics card and RAM is required). If you have a PC it'll need to run Windows and not be a Chromebook, or similar (lower-end) machine, as you won't be able to install and use the software.

If you don’t own a computer, you are advised to wait and discuss your budget and needs with your lecturers and technical demonstrators.

Additional programs: £50-200

We predominantly use Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, MS Office 365 and Capture One Pro. You will also need an external hard drive to back up shoots and transfer projects.

Cost variable (depending on make and model)

A computer that allows you to develop and utilise skills that are used in the industry, such as (AutoCAD, SketchUp, Adobe Suite). See below for key component recommendations to look for in a laptop: 

• Operating system: Windows 10/11
• CPU (central processing unit): Intel i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 (released in the last couple of years)
• GPU (graphics processing unit): Nvidia RTX 3000 series or AMD Radeon 6000 series, or newer
• Storage: 500GB (minimum) of SSD – 1TB is recommended
• RAM (random access memory): 16GB – more is better. 
• Screen size: 15”

Before purchasing, make sure to check out the reviews for that particular model and compare other options from reputable brands such as Dell, MSI, Lenovo, HP, ASUS and Acer.

Look for gaming laptops as they are ideal for running design software. If you already have a laptop, try to install AutoCAD, SketchUp and Adobe to see how well it runs; you can upgrade at a later stage.

Approx costs: from £1629 (direct from Apple Education store)

Here are the recommended MacBook specifications. Please note, the unified memory upgrade is crucial (in bold below).

Apple MacBook Air

• Apple M2 chip with 8‑core CPU, 10‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
• 16GB unified memory
• 512GB SSD storage
• 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone
• 1080p FaceTime HD camera
• MagSafe 3 charging port
• Two Thunderbolt / USB4 ports
• 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter
• Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID – British

Approx costs: £100-200 per year

Annual material and print costs depend on your selected pathway and choice of project. Please note that the final year's printing costs may be higher depending on the technique and materials used. The final year collection may incur costs of over £500.

Other materials you may need to purchase include:

• paper scissors
• fabric shears
• pattern notchers
• tape measure (metric)
• dressmaking pins
• PatternMaster (metric)
• tracing wheel
• pattern drill
• pencil sharpener and eraser
• thimble

Staff will recommend manufacturers and other specialist materials.

Approx costs: £300 in years 1 and 2, £500 in year 3

Materials for printing are charged at cost price (depending on the size and media used).

Estimated costs: Course costs vary depending on the direction of your projects. An average estimation would be £300 each year for years 1 and 2, with the final year being a little more, circa £500 (with your final year exhibition show). There are always ways to keep costs minimal, and we are proactive in giving everyone the same opportunities and platform to be assessed without prejudice.

External hard drive: You will also need your own external hard drive to back up your shoots and transfer projects. These cost between £50 - £200.

Approx costs: from £25 per year

We regularly visit exhibitions, galleries, industry professionals and locations to enrich your cultural experience on the course.

Many of these visits require travel by your own means, normally by public transport at off-peak times. Entrance to shows is often reduced to students (with ID) or booked in advance to offer reduced rates as a group.

Trips are optional and the cost is dependent on the place of visit and student numbers.