Spode Music Week funds a number of bursaries to enable people to take part in the week, who might otherwise be unable to afford the cost of attending. The course does not currently operate any bursary scheme for those aged below 16. There are certain restrictions attached to each fund, so please ensure that you are eligible before applying. Applications must be received before the end of May to be considered for the following August's course.

The Pepler Fund was named for the course’s founder, Fr Conrad Pepler OP.
Bursaries from this fund are available to someone who has already attended at least one Spode Music Week in the past (whether as an adult or as a child). A Pepler bursary covers half the cost of the week - the recipient must still pay the other half. The same recipient can only receive a Pepler bursary twice.

The Pesuvius Fund was created in 2003 in memory of William White.
It is named after a comic character created by Will called "The Bearded Lady of Pesuvius". Will played this character in a number of sketches in the last night concert over many years. The fund normally covers the full cost of attending the week. Recipients must be aged 16-25 at the time of attending the week. There are no restrictions on the number of times the bursary can be awarded. Applications to this fund must be made by the parent when the applicant is aged 16 or 17.

The Hélène Fund was created in 2007 to remember Dr Hélène La Rue, a long-standing member of Music Week.
The recipient must be a student studying music or a closely related subject. Students studying music at A-level, degree, part-time degrees, joint degrees and post-doctoral studies are all eligible. The bursary covers the full cost of the week and there are no restrictions on how many times it can be rewarded to a single recipient. That said, preference is normally given to people who have not attended before.

The Priory Fund is the most recent to have been set up and is open to both male and female Dominicans in training.
Bursaries from this fund cover the full cost of the week but only one is awarded each year.

The RSJ Fund was set up in memory of Robert Sherlaw Johnson. He had attended Music Week for over forty years and was the course director from 1971-1993. After his retirement, he remained an important member of the committee and played a crucial role as the Director of Liturgical Music until his death in 2000.

The fund is used to commission new music and champion young composers. The most recent work it paid for was the Mass of St Dominic by Matthew Martin, composed for the 60th anniversary celebrations in 2013.

Robert was born May 21st 1932 in Sunderland and died November 3rd 2000 whilst ringing bells at the historic Oxfordshire tower of Appleton. Religion was a significant influence on Robert’s compositions and he wrote a lot of liturgical music for performance at Spode. Just a few months before his death, Spode had performed the premiere of his Millenium Mass at the 47th Music Week. You can read his obituary in the Guardian here.