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Royal Academy Schools Show 2026: dates, venue, and what to expect

The RA Schools Show is the annual graduate exhibition for the Royal Academy Schools, the oldest art school in Britain and the only one in the UK that teaches a fully funded three-year postgraduate programme. Cohorts are tiny, free public entry is the norm, and the show is one of the most-watched in the London art calendar. 2026 dates have not yet been published as of April 2026. This page collects the 2025 schedule as a planning proxy and will be updated within 24 hours of any official announcement.

At a glance

  • Show: RA Schools Show 2026
  • Confirmed window: Summer 2026
  • 2025 dates as a planning proxy: 13 to 29 June 2025
  • Venue: RA Schools Studios and Weston Studio, The Julia and Hans Rausing Campus, Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
  • Entrance: Also accessible via 6 Burlington Gardens
  • Admission: Free, no booking required (standard practice)
  • Cohort: typically 6 to 8 graduating artists per year
  • Closest stations: Piccadilly Circus, Green Park

Confirmation status: The Royal Academy has not yet published 2026 RA Schools Show dates as of April 2026. The 2025 dates above are included as a planning proxy. Watch the Royal Academy events page and @raschools for the official 2026 announcement.

When is the RA Schools Show 2026?

The RA Schools Show traditionally opens in mid June and runs for two to three weeks, longer than most degree shows in the UK. Based on 2025, plan for an opening between 12 and 20 June 2026 with a closing around the end of June or first week of July.

The Royal Academy's main galleries open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, with a late opening on Friday until 9pm. The Schools Studios typically follow the same rhythm during the show run.

Where to find it

The RA Schools Show takes place inside the Royal Academy of Arts, the same Burlington House complex on Piccadilly that hosts the Summer Exhibition every year. The dedicated Schools spaces are the RA Schools Studios and the Weston Studio, both on the Julia and Hans Rausing Campus accessed from Burlington House on Piccadilly or via 6 Burlington Gardens.

Getting there:

  • Tube: Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly, Bakerloo) is two minutes away. Green Park (Piccadilly, Victoria, Jubilee) is five minutes.
  • Bus: All Piccadilly routes pass the front door, including 9, 14, 19, 22, 38.
  • Walk: From Trafalgar Square, walk west up Piccadilly. Five minutes door to door.

You enter the show through Burlington House for the main galleries; the Schools Studios are signed inside. There is also an entrance on 6 Burlington Gardens that goes directly into the Schools spaces.

Private view and opening night

The Royal Academy runs an invite-only press, patrons, and Friends preview the day before public opening. There is no public-facing private view. RA Friends membership covers preview access and is the closest route for the general public to attend an opening evening.

For a low-crowd evening visit during the run, the Friday late opening until 9pm is the calmest. The first weekend after public opening is usually the busiest.

Who is showing

The RA Schools is a three-year fully funded postgraduate programme, the only one of its kind in the UK. Cohorts are deliberately small. Recent years have had 6 to 8 graduating artists.

The 2025 graduating cohort was eight artists: Alex Margo Arden, Gusty Ferro, Esther Gamsu, Charlotte Winifred Guérard, Suleman Aqeel Khilji, Rosa Klerkx, Bishwadhan Rai, and James Sibley. The 2026 cohort will be announced closer to the show.

Because the cohort is so small, every artist gets substantial space. That is one of the show's signature features: it does not feel like a degree show, it feels like a curated multi-artist exhibition.

What makes the RA Schools Show distinctive

Three things stand out.

First, scale per artist. With six to eight graduates, each artist typically has a generous gallery footprint, sometimes a whole room. Visitors can spend longer with each body of work than at any other UK grad show.

Second, the institutional setting. The work hangs inside the Royal Academy itself, in the same building as the Summer Exhibition and the Royal Academicians' studios. The contextual gravity is unusual. A buyer who walks past Tracey Emin's work on their way to a graduating artist's room is making an unusual mental comparison.

Third, length of programme. Every RA Schools graduate has had three years of mentorship from Royal Academicians. That length, against the typical one or two years elsewhere, shows in the depth of the work.

The Royal Academy's own framing: the show is "an opportunity to see bold new forms and ideas that result from three years of intense study."

Tips for visiting

  • Allow at least 90 minutes. The cohort is small but each artist's space is large. You will want time to look properly.
  • Combine with the RA Summer Exhibition. It usually runs at the same time and is in the same building. Pair the two.
  • Friday late opening is the quietest evening if you want to see work without the weekend crowd.
  • The RA cafe is good. Worth budgeting time for either lunch or coffee mid-visit.
  • Press tend to circle in the first few days. If you are a buyer, the calmer second week is often the better window.

Are you a graduating RA Schools artist?

If you are graduating from the RA Schools and want a digital home for your work that is as carefully designed as your studio space, build your portfolio on Etch. Free, mobile-first, with QR labels for collectors who want to scan and reserve from the room. Etch handles the checkout and payouts; you arrange collection or delivery with the buyer.

For pricing your work for the first time at this kind of scale, see how to price your degree-show artwork. For longer-term portfolio options, see Etch's post-exhibition options.

Frequently asked questions

When is the RA Schools Show 2026? 2026 dates have not been published as of April 2026. Based on 2025, expect an opening in mid June and a run of two to three weeks. We will update this page when the dates publish.

Is the RA Schools Show free? Yes. Admission is free and no booking is required, in line with the Royal Academy's standard practice for the Schools show.

Where is the RA Schools Show? At the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. The Schools Studios and Weston Studio are accessed inside the main building or via 6 Burlington Gardens.

How many artists show at the RA Schools Show? A small cohort, typically six to eight per year. The 2025 show had eight graduates.

Can I buy work at the RA Schools Show? Yes. Most artists list works for sale and the RA can put buyers in contact with the artist directly. Many works in past shows have been acquired by museums and major collections.

Is there a public private view? No. There is an invite-only press, patrons, and Friends preview the day before public opening. Friends membership is the closest public route to an opening-evening visit.

Sources

Last updated 7 May 2026. Compiled by Etch from official Royal Academy listings. If 2026 dates have published since, email hello@etchapp.art and we will refresh within 24 hours.