Distinguished business leader and father of BBC presenter leaves £100,000 to Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Textiles executive Nick Kuenssberg was a champion of the arts and had previously served as chair of the RCS board of governors from 2016 to 2022.

He also held numerous senior corporate positions at the likes of Bank of Scotland, Scottish Power, Standard Life, Stoddard International and Halls of Broxburn.

Professor Dorothy Miell, the current RCS chair, paid tribute to Mr Kuenssberg, whose daughter Laura is a former political editor of the BBC, and hosts its flagship Sunday politics show.

“We still miss his wise counsel and passionate advocacy, but his support continues through this generous gift,” she wrote in the RCS accounts.

A former deputy chair of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Mr Kuenssberg was 80 when he died in October 2023.

Another donation to the RCS of £125,000 was recorded in the accounts from Professor Richard Rose, while there was £66,000 from the RCS Infrastructure Trust, £50,000 from the William Grant Foundation, and £10,000 from the Julian Bream Trust.

These and other donations helped the RCS in a year in which many higher and further education institutions have struggled financially.

In 2023/24, the RCS posted an overall surplus of £2.28million, of which £1.5m was a donation from the RCS endowment trust, an educational charity established in 1993 with the primary objective of supporting the work of conservatoire and its students.

The surplus for the year before unrealised gains and losses was £1.57m, compared to a deficit of £110,000 in the year before.

In 2024/25, a deficit of £730,000 is forecast, although initiatives to address it are being implemented.

These include a “tuition fees reset”, an increase in postgraduate student numbers, the introduction of low-residency masters programmes from 2025/26, and a review of the operating model to “seek efficiencies” in delivery of teaching and support, as well as “a focus on growth of philanthropic giving”.

Amid the challenges, the accounts state: “The governors believe that RCS can manage its business risks despite the current uncertain economic outlook and have a reasonable expectation that RCS will continue to receive adequate support from the SFC (Scottish Funding Council) and from RCS trusts.

“Accordingly, the governors consider that RCS will have sufficient resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.”

A spokesperson for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland said: “In common with so many others in the higher education sector, RCS finds the current operating environment challenging and we’re wholly committed to being a core contributor to Scotland’s creative, cultural and educational landscape domestically and internationally for the long term.

“We continue to review how best we can be future-focused, sustainable and relevant through challenging times, and we are extremely grateful for the support we receive from trusts, foundations and other partners as well as the support that comes from legacies and active individual donors who believe passionately in the importance of the arts, of nurturing young artists and of there being world-class performing arts education here in Scotland.”