4 Best Art Schools in London (2026)

The Royal Academy of Arts is one of Britain's oldest art institutions, running both major public exhibitions and a highly selective postgraduate art school inside its Piccadilly home. Reviewers describe an intense, competitive program that admits only 17 postgraduate artists each year, alongside a full calendar of exhibitions spanning classical to contemporary work. It operates as both a gallery and a working school, which sets it apart from the smaller ateliers on this list. Its Burlington House setting and centuries of history carry a weight the newer schools simply can't match.

London College of Contemporary Arts is a private college offering creative degree courses through UCAS Clearing, spanning fashion, graphic design, business, hospitality, and games. Its Tower Hill campus runs full academic programs rather than drop-in classes, with tutors and mentors assigned to guide students through coursework. The college markets itself around flexibility for students changing direction late or applying outside the standard cycle. It's aimed at people building a career and a portfolio, not weekend hobbyists.

Sunny Art Centre is a working studio near Kemble Street teaching oil painting, drawing, and traditional Chinese calligraphy through a flexible credit system. Students buy blocks of credits and book two-hour sessions with instructors including Matt, Minko, Robin, and Yinjie, making it easy to build an intensive week or spread lessons over months. Reviewers repeatedly describe it as welcoming to complete beginners while still pushing for real technical improvement. It's a smaller, teacher-led studio rather than an academic institution.

Royal Drawing School is an artist-led, not-for-profit school in Shoreditch built entirely around observational drawing, from a year-long Drawing Development Year to shorter in-person and online courses. It runs both studio classes and out-of-house sessions, like drawing London's parks. Reviewers, including several who traveled from overseas for intensive courses, describe small cohorts and close mentoring rather than large lecture-style teaching. It's aimed at people who want to get seriously good at drawing specifically, not a general art survey.