The Royal Drawing School

Who we are

The aim of the Royal Drawing School is to raise the standard and profile of drawing through teaching and practise. It is one of only a few institutions in the world offering in-depth, quality tuition for those who wish to develop their observational drawing.   

The School is based in Shoreditch, East London and runs a one-year postgraduate-level course, The Drawing Year, awarding a full scholarship and studio space in central London to every student, with living bursaries and re-location grants also available. Alongside the postgraduate course is a Public Programme of daytime and evening courses for adults in drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture, with a comprehensive concessions scheme that make courses accessible to the widest array of students. In addition, the School runs a Young Artists programme for students aged 10-18 years old. The School also offers artists residencies around the world in countries including Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, Switzerland, the USA, India, Jamaica and Antigua.

Online courses cover the same materials and techniques as our studio-based courses. Working from life, both indoors and outdoors, from art in impressive online museum collections and from the imagination, students are able to explore subject matter including; portraiture, the clothed figure, composition, colour, still life, image and text, world imagery, narrative and mindfulness. The School has also recently launched the RDS Digital Streaming Studio; lunchtime and evening drawing sessions broadcast live from our studios in Shoreditch and guided by our expert tutors.   

All courses offer one-to-one feedback from our faculty and group crits as well as being a space to share ideas, learn from one another and push your practice in a new direction, whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist.   

The School was founded by HM King Charles III and artist Catherine Goodman OBE. Previously The Prince’s Drawing School, it became the Royal Drawing School in November 2014, when it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II had consented to the School’s Royal status in recognition the of its academic and artistic excellence and its international importance as a specialist resource for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, who wish to develop their observational drawing.