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BTEC level 3 dance or academic A levels?


5678Dance

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Hi i’m new to this forum but following this thread with interest. Could do with some advice on btec versus a levels. My daughter has been offered a place at BOA on the musical theatre pathway. However she wants to do French a level and they don’t offer it. She is very bright and the alternative is to stay at her current school and do English lit, French and drama a level. At BOA she could do English a level alongside her btec and I have looked into her doing French a level independently with a French tutor but i’m worried this would be too much (equvilent to 5 a levels and have been advised that doing French a level on her own is a big ask). 

Her ultimate aim is to get on a musical theatre degree course at Urdang, trinity Laban etc. Question is, if she stayed at school to do a levels would she then be disadvantaged when it came to audition for these places compared to if she had 2 years at BOA? She currently does ballet, modern, contemporary and commercial outside of school at a good dance school, and does PQA on Saturdays for drama. We’re thinking of getting her private singing lessons as that’s her weaker area if she doesn’t accept her place at BOA. Not sure if this is enough/as good though. Would she be mad to turn down a place at BOA?? I have no idea how sought after places are there! Any advice much appreciated!

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On 14/04/2019 at 11:30, Dance mom said:

Hi i’m new to this forum but following this thread with interest. Could do with some advice on btec versus a levels. My daughter has been offered a place at BOA on the musical theatre pathway. However she wants to do French a level and they don’t offer it. She is very bright and the alternative is to stay at her current school and do English lit, French and drama a level. At BOA she could do English a level alongside her btec and I have looked into her doing French a level independently with a French tutor but i’m worried this would be too much (equvilent to 5 a levels and have been advised that doing French a level on her own is a big ask). 

Her ultimate aim is to get on a musical theatre degree course at Urdang, trinity Laban etc. Question is, if she stayed at school to do a levels would she then be disadvantaged when it came to audition for these places compared to if she had 2 years at BOA? She currently does ballet, modern, contemporary and commercial outside of school at a good dance school, and does PQA on Saturdays for drama. We’re thinking of getting her private singing lessons as that’s her weaker area if she doesn’t accept her place at BOA. Not sure if this is enough/as good though. Would she be mad to turn down a place at BOA?? I have no idea how sought after places are there! Any advice much appreciated!

BOA is a great option to combine an A level albeit limited choice whilst doing dance/ MT as it keeps lots of options open post 18 and I understand that places are very sought after! BOA by day and outside dance by night would be a tall order however! I know students that have studied at BOA and all have settled and enjoyed their time there!

If your DD has great dance training out of school then that could well be enough to achieve her dream of MT at 18 but you’d need to consider if juggling 3 A levels plus dance out of school would prove to be too much,  on reflection my Dd found A levels and outside dance almost too much! 

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On 23/03/2019 at 00:16, Danceforfun said:

Centre Pointe Manchester are launching their BTech extended diploma in Dance this September and are currently auditioning. Exceptional high standard of training with an emphasis on nurturing and individual care. Past graduates take up places in all current top colleges to undertake degree courses. 

 

I echo this sentiment. Their standard of training is outstanding. After 20 months with Centre Pointe (coupled with Mid Associates), my daughter has now been offered a y9 place at White Lodge.

 

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On 14/04/2019 at 11:30, Dance mom said:

Hi i’m new to this forum but following this thread with interest. Could do with some advice on btec versus a levels. My daughter has been offered a place at BOA on the musical theatre pathway. However she wants to do French a level and they don’t offer it. She is very bright and the alternative is to stay at her current school and do English lit, French and drama a level. At BOA she could do English a level alongside her btec and I have looked into her doing French a level independently with a French tutor but i’m worried this would be too much (equvilent to 5 a levels and have been advised that doing French a level on her own is a big ask). 

Her ultimate aim is to get on a musical theatre degree course at Urdang, trinity Laban etc. Question is, if she stayed at school to do a levels would she then be disadvantaged when it came to audition for these places compared to if she had 2 years at BOA? She currently does ballet, modern, contemporary and commercial outside of school at a good dance school, and does PQA on Saturdays for drama. We’re thinking of getting her private singing lessons as that’s her weaker area if she doesn’t accept her place at BOA. Not sure if this is enough/as good though. Would she be mad to turn down a place at BOA?? I have no idea how sought after places are there! Any advice much appreciated!

 

We’re in a similar situation, my dd has a place on the dance pathway at BOA but wants to do A level biology and Maths. Her other option is to stay at the excellent 6th form at her school to do these plus another A level or BTEC sport. As you say, seems wrong to turn down BOA but frustrating that they don’t offer A levels that seem to compliment the performing arts studies which both biology and French do.

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suzysue it’s an impossible decision isn’t it, we’re still agonising over it but need to accept/decline by the end of the week, as do you probably. We are still leaning towards the a levels but dd worried she will get left behind with her training compared to her peers at BOA. 

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Hi Dance Mom .. it is a tricky decision . For what it’s worth , my daughter at 16 had a place at Hammond on their diploma but decided she wanted to stay at her local school and do A levels . She has continued at her local dance school , had a few singing lessons to prepare her audition solo and taken some masterclasses in a dance genre she had no experience in ( commercial ) and has degree offers this year. Assuming she passed her A levels she will have these to fall back on in the future should the whole dance thing not work out ! I would say go with your daughter’s gut feel ! 😀 Best of luck x

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Thank you Littleone, that’s really good to hear (and well done to your daughter!) , so reassuring that it can be done like that.

Happy to hear from anyone else that has had a similar experience of choosing the a level route and been successful with auditions!

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On 17/04/2019 at 08:59, Littleone said:

Hi Dance Mom .. it is a tricky decision . For what it’s worth , my daughter at 16 had a place at Hammond on their diploma but decided she wanted to stay at her local school and do A levels . She has continued at her local dance school , had a few singing lessons to prepare her audition solo and taken some masterclasses in a dance genre she had no experience in ( commercial ) and has degree offers this year. Assuming she passed her A levels she will have these to fall back on in the future should the whole dance thing not work out ! I would say go with your daughter’s gut feel ! 😀 Best of luck x

That’s encouraging to hear - would you mind me asking what A levels she chose and where she’s hoping to study? It’s so hard to know what to do for the best! X

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Hi Dippycat - my daughter took Biology , Dance , PE and Psychology at AS level and is continuing with all except biology to A2 . She has offers from Urdang and LIPA and is still waiting to hear from Performers . 

Best of luck with your decisions !😀

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On 19/04/2019 at 16:39, Littleone said:

Hi Dippycat - my daughter took Biology , Dance , PE and Psychology at AS level and is continuing with all except biology to A2 . She has offers from Urdang and LIPA and is still waiting to hear from Performers . 

Best of luck with your decisions !😀

Little one - well done to your daughter on her offers. My daughter is thinking of doing dance and PE at A level so it’s good to hear of students getting great offers. X

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