Lema Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Does anyone mind me asking what the going rate for pocket money is amongst children in vocational schools? Assuming they need a little more than the average live at home child incase they need to buy little extras if they run out of things?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All4dancers Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I think this varies greatly! I send my dd with enough of everything to last until the next exeat/holiday, so any money she has is to spend. I normally give her about £4 to £5 a week, unless they are going on an outing or there is some activity on in the boarding house. She has managed well on this and has never complained. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon2 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 We put £10 once a fortnight into dc bank account. Tends to manage with this including bus fares into town and buying odd drink out. Has been better managing money since had a debit card. Like All4dance I also make sure has a spare of everything, toothpaste, shower gel etc each term. And if going on special trip give extra pocket money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Oh that doesn't seem too bad then, and great idea to get their own account and debit card set up!! Thanks for the reply's!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billyelliott Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 (edited) Pocket money - we send him back with £10 to last for 3 weeks unless there is a special trip along with his next train ticket home from Birmingham and then meet him in London , but only started this for the last half of the last term of year 7. If you book it in advance it's only £11:50 first class , but there is still the cost of going up to London to meet him as I'm not yet ready to allow him to cross London alone ! I wanted to put money in a debit card account , but there is no cash machine nearby .......... The outlay on uniform is greater the first year , than the second , but then we were lucky as he hasn't grown that much ! Edited July 25, 2014 by Billyelliott 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Its her Life Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Yes Lema, Tring have 2 Exeats per term. So with half term added as well, if you collected you child each time, took home & then went back again, that's 8 trips per term. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 Billyelliot £11:50 isn't too ba at all at petrol would cost nearly £20 from Birmingham to London I guess, my daughter is tiny and hardly grows from year to year either but knowing my luck if she ever got into a vocational school she would have a massive growth spurt does your son have to get a taxi to new street or does someone from the school take him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billyelliott Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 (edited) Lema he takes the bus , which is virtually door to door as he know that journey well as we have done it together more than 20 times . There are those that share Taxis , but he can't go in one alone as he is to young according to the taxi company !!!! Since it's a fixed time train on an advance booked ticket it was a logistical nightmare getting someone over 14 to share with him at just the right time ! The comforting thing is that I can track him on his phone and keep him on the phone all the time to make sure he gets there safely ! We have an app for the virgin trains that tells me which platform to send him to as well , once on , it's straight through to Euston . We had never considered Elmhurst till his dance teacher recommended it , purely because of the distance , but it is feasible .....and will get better with time as he is quite confident travelling alone now and next year hopes to travel with friends as well . The worst part was a the first term , I was exhausted getting back home late around midnight on Friday and Sunday nights after taking and dropping him as the school does not open till 6pm on a leave out Sunday and then having to go to work the next day . RBS is different as I believe the school does not actually close in the term time , though someone may correct me on that ! Edited July 26, 2014 by Billyelliott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 Wow billyelliott hats off to you and your ds it sounds like you are a well oiled machine when it comes to organising travel!! And that's a great idea to have the tracker on the phone too!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I used to work in Birmingham & public transport is very good & easy. Also lots of secondary age kids cross the city daily as they have grammar/girls/boys schools. Not as scary to travel through as London but not as remote as some places. Hammond is very remote the school itself but the boarding house is within walking distance if the station. However I've found that for most areas you have to change at Crewe which makes a more complicated journey. Wouldn't trust dd with it alone yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amanda-w Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 This is an interesting thread :-) I'm hoping that by DD starting vocational school in September its going to save me money. When I take into account what I've spent in the last few years on normal dance classes, private lessons, pilates lessons, festivals (costumes, travelling and accommodation), ballet shoes and tights :-( 2 associate programs so literally every weekend sometimes Saturdays and Sundays travelling across the country...billions of visits to costa coffee on the motorway, associate uniforms, audition cost and hotel expenses .....normal school uniform, dinner money, pocket money...cinema money....I'm going to be rich next year ha ha ....even with the parent contribution ..I hope :-) 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 Amanda-w I have added up roughly what I spend a year on dance and had a real shock!! And congratulations on your dd gaining a place where is she going? And you will have to let us know how she settles in when she starts too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 We have friends & family in London and it is considered perfectly normal to cross London to go to school by bus and/or tube for Year 7 and above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 Really Pas de quatre? I suppose if you live there you would be used to it but as someone from a town crossing a big city at 11 seems a very scary prospect!! I couldn't imagine my dd crossing Birmingham alone let alone London, maybe I'm just over protective?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amanda-w Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Amanda-w I have added up roughly what I spend a year on dance and had a real shock!! And congratulations on your dd gaining a place where is she going? And you will have to let us know how she settles in when she starts too! We have to try and hide everything from 'Dad' he would have a heart attack if he knew what we spend on dance :-) DD will be going to Tring, she's so happy about it :-) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 My hubby knows roughly but I doubt he's ever stopped to think what it all adds up to annually else he too would probably have a heart attack!! Again massive congratulations to your daughter I can imagine how happy she must be! We have only very recently heard of Tring and Hammond so been trying to research like mad to find out as much info about them as I can! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldermum Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Some use train buddies to travel by train currently about 5 or 6 travelling together on dd train getting off at various stops. She started travelling with a 6:1 in yr 7 now it's a mixed group next year will be yrs 10, 9, 8 also in early days on return journey especially in winter we took it in turns a parents to chaperone going back. Also car sharing works for leave outs but not so much at end of terms when they bring everything home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straceydor Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Lema he takes the bus , which is virtually door to door as he know that journey well as we have done it together more than 20 times . There are those that share Taxis , but he can't go in one alone as he is to young according to the taxi company !!!! Since it's a fixed time train on an advance booked ticket it was a logistical nightmare getting someone over 14 to share with him at just the right time ! The comforting thing is that I can track him on his phone and keep him on the phone all the time to make sure he gets there safely ! We have an app for the virgin trains that tells me which platform to send him to as well , once on , it's straight through to Euston . We had never considered Elmhurst till his dance teacher recommended it , purely because of the distance , but it is feasible .....and will get better with time as he is quite confident travelling alone now and next year hopes to travel with friends as well . The worst part was a the first term , I was exhausted getting back home late around midnight on Friday and Sunday nights after taking and dropping him as the school does not open till 6pm on a leave out Sunday and then having to go to work the next day . RBS is different as I believe the school does not actually close in the term time , though someone may correct me on that ! My non DS has been using a taxi to get to school since year 3 and it was only because I kicked up a fuss that he had an escort until year 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancermum Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Great thread & lots of useful stuff... We are thinking of auditioning this coming year for year 10 entry and I wondered if anyone could shed some more light on the MDS income levels - do they take just 1 years income into account or several, plus do they review your award very year? We run our own business and income can vary hugely year to year, hence the question.... If it's a one off assessment and it's been a particularly good year business wise then it might be the following year we couldn't pay our contribution if we didn't have such a good year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amanda-w Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Dancermum, I've just completed a MDS application for my DD who starts vocational school in sept and we also have out own company. We provided info based on the 2013-2014 tax year, total income from salaries paid to is by our company with proof being P60 and payslips. Also dividends paid to us by our company and proof of this was required by self assessment so we had our accountant produce them early. Our contribution for this year has been based on last years earning although I think if you are going to be earning significantly less you can specify this and the reason for this and will probably require some kind of proof. We will have to do the same again next year but providing the same info to calculate the following years contribution. I hope his helps :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancermum Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Thanks Amanda-w... That's really helpful. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moneypenny Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 It is possible to move to a current year assessment if the current year's income is going to be significantly less than last year's income. It is then reconciled at the end of the year. Once you have moved to a current year assessment on mds, you can't revert back to a previous year assessment. That's my understanding anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeliB Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Reading this thread i thought maybe i should chip in in case anyone ever thinks about vocational school abroad. I know it's rare that british dancers consider this, but DS only really clicked with ballet once he started vaganova training so when the possibility arose that he might be good enough for a career there wasnt really a uk option. DS has full scholarship to washington vaganova school but this means full artistic scholarship and the academic and boarding fees are means tested. Plus we factor in trips for us (at very least one of us and hopefully both and occasionally other children) to visit and see him perform. And he has Thanksgiving (a week off only 3 weeks before christmas break- what a nightmare) as well as christmas, spring and summer breaks. He has to do summer school as the break is so long (14 weeks). I think we probably hit the record for distance and cost of travel! As for pocket money this is high- USA is really expensive (or maybe its just washington) so currently he is on 20 dollars a week. I suppose I dont feed him and he rarely buys clothes other than ballet kit, but I do send parcels (american chocolate is terrible!). I think initially we compared the cost with what we would have to pay RBS if we were measn tested and it was about the same but in the 3 years DS has been there the flights have almost doubled in price. As I mentioned on another thread his most recent SI despite being fantastic in all ways was astonishingly expensive (even on a full scholarship). Maybe European schools might be less expensive, particularly on travel, but certainly the hidden costs of USA have been far greater than anticipated. Having said that we dont regret a penny (but ofcourse you can only say that if you have the pennies in the first place!!) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 Thanks CeliB it's great to hear about other options!! And how fantastic for your son to be over there but what a massive travel expense!! I won't moan about traveling around the uk again ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted November 27, 2014 Author Share Posted November 27, 2014 Can anyone tell me how the MDS works at Elmhurst please as at the audition they told us if offered a place in year 7 you are guaranteed that place till the end of year 9 when they then do assessments, so I was wondering if you get MDS funding in year 7 is that also guaranteed untill year 9 as this wasn't mentioned, thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Yes, guaranteed until end year 9 if you get it for year 7. Most at Elmhurst are on MDS. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Well I'm sure if they behaved badly it could be withdrawn. .... but exceptional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted November 27, 2014 Author Share Posted November 27, 2014 Thank you sarahw just wasn't sure as it wasn't mentioned in the talk at auditions ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Just going back to exeats and travel costs which were mentioned earlier on this thread. I was told recently that with staffing issues at WL they are encouraging dc to go home every weekend. Not sure if anyone can confirm or deny it but could add up to much larger than expected travel costs...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisadebs Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Hi sarahw I can't confirm or deny it but speaking from our experience over the last 5 years at WL our dd has never come home every weekend. We live a fair distance from the school and it just wouldn't have been practical or financially possible. DD's staying at school has never been mentioned as problematic and there are a number of others who stay too - maybe a question to ask them at the auditions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 It all has to be taken into account, Elmhurst for me is where I'd really like her to go as we live within 30mins of the school and she would be guarenteed 3 years of training where as White Lodge is 2.5 hours away and only 1 year guaranteed, however The Royal Ballet is every young dancers dream!! All this and she probably won't even get in lol ???? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 That is useful information thanks lisadebs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windover60 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Like lisadebs I can confirm there is no problem with staying at WL at weekends. My daughter stays most weekends as do many others. Only 2 or 3 girls in her year go home every weekend. We wouldn't be able to get her home every week due to distance and finances x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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