Graduation 2024 FAQs

Graduation 2024 will be taking place on Tuesday 13 February 2024, in London at the Royal Geographical Society. 

Invitation letters are sent via email on a rolling monthly basis from August - December 2023 to all graduates who are eligible to attend. Please note that there may be a delay between passing your qualification and receiving your invitation, whilst your results are processed internally.

Invites will be sent to the email address that you registered with when starting your qualification.  Therefore, if you have changed contact details during the duration of your qualification, your invitation may have been sent to an old email address.

If we have not been provided with contact details for you, your invitation will be sent to your teacher or ADC. Therefore please check with them to see if they have received your invitation. 

If you think you should have received an invitation and you or your tutor have still not yet received one, please contact graduation@istd.org

Invitations will be sent to anyone who has been notified that they have passed their qualification by 21 December 2023. 

Some qualifications (such as the DDE) may be subject to a meeting of the assessment board, before results are confirmed. Therefore if your results are released after December 2023, you will be invited to Graduation 2025. 

If you have any questions about this, please contact graduation@istd.org

We are still in the process of organizing this event and timings for the ceremony will be confirmed closer to the day once bookings have closed.

During the ceremony, graduates will be presented with a replica certificate, to act as a placeholder on the day. All official certificates are issued directly to you via post, from our Quality Assurance department. Therefore, if you have not yet received your formal certificate, do please contact the team at csqa@istd.org

Due to limited capacity at the venue, all graduates are allocated two guest tickets. If any additional tickets do become available, graduates will be contacted via email, closer to the day of the event.

Tickets for this event will not be available to purchase at the door. Therefore, only guests with a ticket will be permitted into the venue.

Graduation is a formal event that runs over a number of hours and is therefore not the most suitable environment for young children. However, If you would like to bring your child, then please make sure to note this at the point of booking (including their age) and we will do our best to accommodate. All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times they are in the venue.

Children over the age of 5 will require their own ticket, therefore please take this into consideration when booking your two allocated tickets.

Graduates and guests will be seated separately as graduate seating will be ordered alphabetically according to qualification and genre. All seating is allocated.

If you cannot attend then you will be graduating in absentia – this means that your name will still appear in the programme (unless requested otherwise) but will not be read out during the ceremony. Please let us know at graduation@istd.org if you are not attending and we will remove you from our email list.

Cancellations must be made via email to graduation@istd.org, before bookings close on 21 January 2023. Any cancellations received once bookings have closed will not be refunded, unless under exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Director of Education.

The venue is located at 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR

The nearest underground stations are South Kensington (Piccadilly, District and Circle lines) and Knightsbridge (Piccadilly line) which are both approximately a 10–15-minute walk. There is also a bus stop outside the Royal Albert Hall which is served by the following bus routes: 9, 23, 52 and 452.

The Royal Geographical Society is an accessible venue and there are spaces in the Ondaatje Theatre for wheelchair users. However, these spaces are limited. Therefore, please ensure to note any accessibility requirements for you or your guests at the point of booking.

Should you have any further queries about accessibility then please contact graduation@istd.org.

On-street parking is limited, however, private car parks are available in the local area. However, we would strongly recommend travelling by public transport to avoid issues with parking on the day.

Yes, the Royal Geographical Society does have a cloakroom available for attendees to use during the event.

The ceremony will be followed by an afternoon drinks reception. Therefore, we do suggest eating before arriving for the ceremony, as the venue does not have restaurant on-site.

If you or your guests have any allergies that we should be aware of, please note these at the point of booking - or by contacting us at graduation@istd.org as soon as possible, as we will be unable to accommodate any additional requirements on the day.

Booking Conditions

• All fees must be paid in full at the time of booking in order to secure graduation tickets.
• Payment on the day of the event is not acceptable.
• Bookings cancelled In advance of the day will not be refunded unless a medical certificate is provided or under exceptional circumstances. The ISTD also reserve the right to retain all or part of the event fee should the cancellation be made with more than one month’s notice.
• Due to the nature of the event the ISTD is also unable to refund any participant who is unwell and unable to attend the event on the day. 
• Delegates are advised to book refundable travel and/or accommodation, as the ISTD will not refund any incurred costs if the event does not take place.
• Delegates should inform the ISTD of access needs or special requirements at the time of booking so that we can make reasonable adjustments where possible and ensure that we can facilitate and support the delegate or guests.
• Delegates are responsible for their own personal property during the event itself. The ISTD cannot accept responsibility for any loss, theft or damage caused to personal effects.
• Travel to the event is the responsibility of the delegate. The ISTD cannot refund any individuals/s should they arrive late or miss the event entirely.
• The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing has the right to refuse bookings on the grounds of health and safety.

Behaviour and Conduct

Should any delegate or guest display behaviour or conduct that is not deemed appropriate or respectful during or after the event then they may be asked to leave for the benefit of the other patrons.

Photography and recording

• The ISTD is committed to the principle that the interests and welfare of participants taking part in dance activities is paramount. To comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, ISTD needs your permission before we take any photography or video of you.
• By acknowledging and agreeing to these terms I consent to ISTD photographing or videoing me at this event.
• I can confirm that I have been made aware that these images or video could be used in dance related publications, the ISTD website, at future events and broadcast on social media or video streaming services.
• I give the ISTD permission without time limit to use this photography or video (including facial images) worldwide on any medium.

Please contact us at graduation@istd.org and a member of the team will get back to you shortly.