NSS 2025: dBs Institute top-performing specialist music education provider in the UK

The results are in from this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) and dBs Institute has emerged as one of the highest-performing larger specialist music education providers in the UK, ranking No.1 in three key themes.

Each year, the NSS polls millions of final year undergraduate students around the UK for their honest feedback on their university experience.  Rating key areas such as teaching quality, learning opportunities, student voice, academic support and more. The NSS results help prospective students choose where to study, while also guiding universities and colleges on how they can improve their student experience.

NSS 2025: Headline results for dBs Institute

dBs Institute ranked among 14 larger UK specialist music institutions that met National Student Survey (NSS) 2025 publication thresholds:

• 1st in the UK (among larger specialist music providers) for Learning Opportunities, Assessment and Feedback, and Student Voice
• Top 5 for Teaching, Academic Support, and Organisation and Management (compared to other specialist music providers)
• Over 90% student satisfaction in Teaching, Assessment and Feedback, and Academic Support

Reacting to the phenomenal results, dBs’ Managing Director Hannah Phipps said, 

“We’re so proud of this year’s NSS results - not just because they’re some of the strongest in our sector, but because they show real progress across the board. We’ve made big improvements since last year, especially in student voice and organisation and management, and we’ve exceeded our benchmarks in every category. We’ve also maintained our consistently high scores for teaching and academic support, thanks to our brilliant tutors who go above and beyond every day. 

The introduction of our first Student President has helped us take student voice even further - and we’ll keep listening, adapting and raising the bar for our students. This is a real team effort, so huge thanks to all of our community members, staff and students, who make dBs such a unique and inspiring place to be.”

Breaking down the results

87.9% of dBs Institute students were positive about the learning opportunities on their course

• 89.9% felt they had the chance to explore ideas and concepts in depth
• 92.1% felt the course introduced subjects and skills in a way that built on what they had already learned
• 87.6% felt they had the chance to bring together information and ideas from different topics
• 86.5% felt the course developed the knowledge and skills needed for their future

This ranks dBs Institute 1st in the UK among larger specialist music providers.*

90.3% of dBs Institute students were positive about the assessment and feedback on their course

• 95.5% felt the marking and assessment on their course had been fair
• 94.4% felt the assessments allowed them to demonstrate what they had learned
• 96.6% said they received assessment feedback on time
• 88.6% felt the feedback received helped improve their work

This ranks dBs Institute 1st in the UK among larger specialist music providers.*

84.8% of dBs Institute students felt their opinions were valued and they had a say in shaping their experience 

• 89.9% felt they had the right opportunities to give feedback on their course
• 89.7% felt their opinions about the course were valued by staff

This ranks dBs Institute 1st in the UK among larger specialist music providers.*

90.7% of dBs Institute students were positive about the teaching on their course

• 96.6% said the teaching staff were good at explaining things
• 92.1% said the teaching staff made the subject engaging
• 83.1% said their course was intellectually stimulating
• 91% said their course challenged them to achieve their best work

This places dBs Institute in the top 5 nationally among larger specialist music providers.*

90.4% of dBs Institute students were positive about the Academic Support they received during their studies

• 89.9% felt it was easy to contact teaching staff when they needed to
• 90.9% felt that the teaching staff supported their learning

This places dBs Institute in the top 5 nationally among larger specialist music providers.*

78.1% of students were positive about how their course was structured and managed

• 78.4% felt their course was well organised
• 77.3% felt that any changes to the teaching on their course were well communicated

This places dBs Institute in the top 5 nationally among larger specialist music providers.*

*Comparisons are based on published theme-level data from the National Student Survey 2025. Only larger specialist music providers with at least 10 respondents and a 50% response rate were included in ranking calculations. Rankings reflect the relative position of dBs Institute (DBS Music Holdings Limited) among this group. All data used complies with NSS publication guidance.

The UK specialist music institutions that these comparisons were made against are:  ACM Guildford Limited, BIMM University Limited, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, ICMP Management Limited, Leeds Conservatoire, Point Blank Limited, Royal College of Music, Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Limited, The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, The Royal Academy of Music, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Waterbear Education Ltd.

Want to study at a top-performing specialist music education provider? See what spaces are  available for September 2025 through Clearing on our website.