NCO is open to all young musicians with ability and potential, whatever their background or circumstances, and we want any young musician to have the opportunity to accept their offer of a place in NCO.
To take part in NCO there are Membership fees as outlined below. We are pleased to offer financial support to help ensure everyone who is offered a place has the opportunity to take part.
Membership fees for the 2026 NCO Orchestral Weekends: £400
Membership fees for the 2026 NCO Orchestral Weeks are:
Under 12 and Under 13 Orchestras £2,100
Under 14 Orchestra £2,300
The true cost to NCO of providing a place in an NCO orchestra is more than double the fees above. NCO subsidises activities to keep fees as low as possible and works hard each year to raise the funds which cover the balance.
NCO's Financial Support programme
Our aim is that money doesn’t create a barrier to a child hoping to take part in our activities. We want any young musician, no matter their background or circumstance, to have the opportunity to accept their offer of a place in NCO. It is possible to have all or part of your child’s fees paid for you through our Financial Support programme.
NCO prioritises financial support for families:
- where the child is in state education and/or
- who are entirely based in the UK, with working parent/s (including single parents and/or those who are also receiving benefits to supplement their employment income, unless they are unable to do so on medical grounds/another exceptional reason).
NCO support is means-tested so once your child has been offered a place, we ask for a range of information and supporting documents from those who would like to make an application for support.
For Orchestral Weeks, NCO will consider providing financial support on a sliding scale (25% - 100%) to families with a gross household income less than c. £80,000.
For Orchestral Weekends, NCO will consider providing financial support (100% or 50%) to families with a gross household income less than c. £60,000. For Orchestral Weekends only, NCO will also prioritise families who are living a considerable distance from where activity is taking place, as well as being on a lower income.
Thank you in advance for your time in providing this detail and for your transparency – it really does help us to best consider your request. We will ask you for some information about:
- Your finances, including your gross annual income, dividends and company ownership, pension/s, savings and property ownership and any benefits or grants you receive
- Where your child goes to school, including whether they are receiving any bursaries or scholarships or are eligible for Free School Meals or Pupil Premium
- Your other dependants
- Whether you have applied for grants from other sources e.g. charities or your local authority (we recommend this)
- Any other circumstances which will affect your capacity to pay your child’s membership fees
As a charity, NCO raises funds to provide financial support to young musicians each year. In a normal year, our Financial Support programme has the capacity to support around 10 - 15% of our members, depending on the funding level we have raised. There is no guarantee we will be able to offer support for every application we receive, even if you’ve received support from us before. We recommend that you apply to other funding sources alongside your NCO Financial Support application as we are expecting significant demand for support
If you have any questions about the Financial Support programme that you would like to ask before your child auditions for NCO, please email financialsupport@nco.org.uk and we will be happy to help.
“IT'S THE FIRST TIME SHE'S BEEN AWAY ON HER OWN AND SHE'S LOVED EVERY SECOND. IN TERMS OF MUSIC, IT SURPASSED ANYTHING SHE'S EVER DONE. SHE PUTS HER MUSIC PRETTY MUCH ABOVE EVERYTHING, SO I AM VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE BURSARY."
NCO Member, Spring 2022
Other organisations offering financial support
There are organisations external to NCO that provide financial support with children's musical learning, including support with fees for additional activities like NCO, support for lessons and instrument hire and more. We've listed some suggested funding sources that we are aware of on our Supporting Musical Learning page.
