The National Film and Television School (NFTS) has announced plans to offer nine fully accessible rooms and a bursary scheme for disabled students at its Beaconsfield campus, aiming to address long-standing barriers to entry in the film and TV industry. The new accommodation, part of the Cubby Broccoli Building set to open in January 2027, will enable physically disabled students to live on site for the first time, with living costs fully covered.
Hamish Thompson, NFTS disability advocate, described the initiative as “massively transformative” for disabled people, who often face a choice between studying at a world-class institution or not studying at all. A recent accessibility audit identified 200 inaccessible areas on the historic campus, but the school plans to reduce this to a handful by 2027.
The move comes after writer Jack Thorne’s 2021 McTaggart lecture, where he called disability the “forgotten diversity” and criticised the industry’s inclusion record. Since then, the NFTS has increased the proportion of disabled MA entrants from 15% in 2021 to 26% in 2025, and diploma students from 18% to 28%. Thorne praised the school for “leading the way for what inclusion should look like”.
The £10m project, funded by government investment and matched private investment, also includes a new apprenticeship programme for people from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the investment reflects that “talent is everywhere in this country, opportunity is not”.
Currently, only 12% of TV employees are disabled, compared with 18% in the wider labour market. The NFTS hopes that by training more disabled talent, the industry can move closer to full inclusion by 2030, a goal supported by initiatives such as the BBC’s Extend programme and the TV Access Project.
