balletmadmom Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I just wanted to say congratulations to Young Dancer's Academy graduate Year 11's all of whom achieved full scholarships to vocational colleges and also got 100% GCSE pass rate - 81% A* to B! Brilliant results, when you think what a stressful year it must be for those taken GCSEs at the same time as auditioning. As I mentioned previously, they have just started at:- Royal Ballet Upper School, with two going to ENB, one to Central, one to Elmhurst and one to Millenium. Not to mention the two students that were taken into White Lodge this year and three last year! They should be very proud. My DD is so happy there and it was obviously the right decision to turn down Elmhurst for Year 7 to go to YDA. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evie Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Well done to all the dancers from YDA. I would be interested in knowing more about your decision to turn down a place at Elmhurst though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletmadmom Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 Well Evie, my DD auditioned for WL, Elmhurst and Tring for Year 7 and was offered Elmhurst (with funding) and Tring (without funding). I have three other children and was loath for DD to board and she was not keen, although the facilities at Elmhurst were very impressive. So, we decided against it. We then had a chat with the teachers that we knew from LCB and Central and decided to go and see Anna Du Boisson and YDA. DD auditioned for YDA and.... she is so happy there, this is her 4th year and is doing very well. DD was an MA at Royal, is now an SA, she got to the WL final without auditioning last year and it was definitely the right decision for us. Of course next year will be the big one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Balletmadmom, how many GCSEs do the children take at YDA? My dd is very academic and her GCSEs are a real priority for her. She's looking to take 12 or so including music and Russian. She has a friend who is very happy at YDA but loves the range of GCSEs she can study at her academic school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletla Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 "she got to the WL final without auditioning last year and it was definitely the right decision for us" How do you get to the WL final without auditioning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Sometimes RBS associates are invited to White Lodge finals without applying/having done prelims - I guess if their associate teacher recommends them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 It's wonderful to hear they're doing so well, and many congratulations to them all, but we're back to our previous discussions about YDA about how most people can't afford to send their child there sadly. I do hope the school has applied for funding through the MDS scheme, especially as they can show how successful the students have been when auditioning for upper schools/sixth form - perhaps eventually we'll see some funded places there (I know they do some scholarships/bursaries, but for most that's still not enough to help most people. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerbread Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Well said Julie - ballet is never going to get a reputation as an inclusive activity as long as dancers from less affluent backgrounds are discriminated against. I understand YDA and places like this will not be able to afford to charge less as they have overheads and teachers to pay, but my DD is very lucky to go somewhere that exists to help talent from all backgrounds as a major priority. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Exactly right. I'd absolutely love to let my dd audition for YDA but even with a scholarship (unless they could offer a full scholarship!) it would be completely beyond us. I do hope they consider applying to be included on the MDS scheme as they obviously get super results. I would be interested in how many GCSEs you can take there though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon2 Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Spanner, From their website subjects studied at each KS. Don't know if they would get to do all listed subjects at KS4 or would do core with a couple of options but not 12 GCSE subjects on offer. <p> Year 7, 8 and 9 (key stage 3) English Literature English Language Maths Biology History French Drama - Trinity Musical Theatre Award PHSE CYQ Years 10 and 11 (key stage 4) English Literature English Language Maths Biology History French Physics Drama – Trinity Musical Theatre Award (PHSE is integrated in English & History) CYQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Do they not do chemistry to GCSE?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Re MDS funding - I dare say the government is having it's purse strings pulled really tight at the moment. They probably only have the funds for a certain number of MDS places, so if YDA were successful in gaining some, the places would probably have to be taken away from somewhere else's allocation. Just a thought... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Spanner, From their website subjects studied at each KS. Don't know if they would get to do all listed subjects at KS4 or would do core with a couple of options but not 12 GCSE subjects on offer. <p> Year 7, 8 and 9 (key stage 3) English Literature English Language Maths Biology History French Drama - Trinity Musical Theatre Award PHSE CYQ Years 10 and 11 (key stage 4) English Literature English Language Maths Biology History French Physics Drama – Trinity Musical Theatre Award (PHSE is integrated in English & History) CYQ Thanks Jane, that's really helpful. Dd's favourite subjects are German, Music, and the chemistry strand of science, which I guess explains why she is so keen to do her GCSEs at her current school! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurora Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 What's CYQ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Good question! I googled it and it seems to be some kind of health and fitness qualification...? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletmadmom Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 So... In year 8 DD auditioned for associates and did not tick WL box, but was invited to final. Chemistry is not studied at YDA, as the school is very small (6-7 in each year group) and therefore they do not have labs. DD is taking GCSEs in English Lit, English Lang, Maths, French, History, Music, Biology and also Trinity. Funding is always in short supply, but it is always worth auditioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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