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Farawaydancer

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  1. Farawaydancer
    I didn’t say fees could be negotiated; I said they can be flexible in what they offer in the way of funding/awards/scholarships. And yes, I do have first hand experience of this, but as I also said I can’t discuss the details.
  2. Farawaydancer
    I think a few of the schools are quite flexible in their approach to funding if they really want your dc, and current parents won’t always be able to say what their child receives, as not discussing it is often a condition of the award. It’s always worth a discussion with the school about your individual circumstances.
  3. Farawaydancer
    No one. I’ve asked one of the principals of one of the schools this question, and whilst there are inspections etc, there is no one to complain to about the actual mds provision, although the outcomes from the mds are monitored by the DfE in a general sense. I think the schools have to report how many students in receipt of mds go on to upper schools for instance.
  4. Farawaydancer
    I’ve never heard of anyone losing their mds at either of the schools my dc attend. Some students switch from dance to theatre arts and give up their mds. Some choose to leave.
  5. Farawaydancer
    I would go and visit too. (Ds liked it very much, just to add balance to those who hated it! )
  6. Farawaydancer
    Is this the mds funding calculator you’ve used? It’s fairly accurate. https://elmhurstballetschool.org/en/apply/funding-and-fees-calculator/ Most families don’t pay anything like full fees.
  7. Farawaydancer
    Mds funding is based on gross income with very few deductions made; around £2000 is deducted for another child in the family. They don’t make deductions for other outgoings. It is expensive (having two even more so!).
  8. Farawaydancer
    Our experience of Elmhurst is that the academic support has been excellent, including meeting SEN. GCSE grades achieved far exceeded what we would have expected from a ‘mainstream’ school. Our experience at Hammond is that academics are variable and they’re struggling to meet the needs of the top end of the class.
  9. Farawaydancer
    Dd choreographed her own based on stuff she’d done in her contemporary CAT classes, to be honest she just winged it. Same with the song, she just practised it a couple of times at home. They just want to see the children perform, so as long as they seem to be loving what they’re doing it’ll be fine.
  10. Farawaydancer
    I’m a teacher and have bought my children’s teachers alcohol but only if I know them really well and know they would appreciate it. Bottles of wine are a very normal Christmas/end of year gift for school teachers.
  11. Farawaydancer
    My dd took her grade 4 exam when she was 9 so there will be some. I guess if they’ve seen you at something like a pop up event and they like you they might let you go to the residential even if you haven’t reached grade 4.
  12. Farawaydancer
    I’m surprised you find it tricky. Lots of shops near us in the NE seem to sell them now. Whereabouts in the country is your dd @sillysally? People will be able to suggest some shops nearby I’m sure.
  13. Farawaydancer
    I agree. It’ll make no difference and the auditions are expensive enough without spending hundreds on photos.
  14. Farawaydancer
    Not my experience with the clinicians I work with on a daily basis diagnosing anxiety disorders but maybe your experience is different.
  15. Farawaydancer
    All of this is what I started to write but you’ve put it much more concisely, thank you! The diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders and hypermobility syndromes aren’t open to interpretation, they’re defined and diagnosed by medics when appropriate.
  16. Farawaydancer
    Dd had some marks added under this category for one of her vocational exams, when the studio they were in was “hotter than the sun” but also the pianist seemed to be having an off day and was playing inconsistently (maybe to do with the heat). This came about from the examiner on the day, not requested by the pupils or teachers.
  17. Farawaydancer
    Yes, this is standard in most schools. You can and should be told what is happening to stop it happening again and how your child can be supported, but you won’t be told what consequences there have been for the other child.
  18. Farawaydancer
    Anyone can report safeguarding concerns to the relevant LADO for their school’s area, you don’t need to wait.
  19. Farawaydancer
    These were the years when it got better and easier for our ds, after we’d dealt with the things that had caused two really very difficult years. At one point we did bring him home and told the school he wasn’t going back until we had sorted things. That was a real turning point. We have never had an issue speaking to school and staff have always done what they said would be done. Support for mental health (not dance related) has been available within the week when needed. Only you will know your child and your family, and have an idea of whether they can get through the really difficult times. There will be very few children sail through from 11-16 without any. Ask all the questions people have suggested. But how well things go will be down to personalities (as well as their physical and mental health needs) - your child’s, their teachers, their classmates. Those things you can’t predict. The teacher that caused my ds so much difficulty in the early years was loved by many others pupils.
  20. Farawaydancer
    I’m sure you’ll get lots of advice. I have two dc at different vocational schools, and their experiences have been as different from each other as they have been similar, and also different again from their friends. There is no one particular experience, even within the same class, so much of it is down to your child’s personality. So listen to everyone, and have your questions answered, but their experiences will not be that of your child. Enjoy the auditions, it’s a lot of fun if you approach it with a ‘let’s see what happens’ attitude.
  21. Farawaydancer
    My dd loved it, and is hoping to go for longer next time!
  22. Farawaydancer
    RAD is built into the timetable at Hammond too, about three hours per week in y7/8.
  23. Farawaydancer
    They do have a full morning of dance every Saturday though.
  24. Farawaydancer
    Hammond is more variable. Some days they only have one hour of dance, others they have dance almost all day. There’s no set format to the days and every year group is different.
  25. Farawaydancer
    My ds was telling me about this - fantastic news!! Many congratulations to them. Fingers crossed everything goes ahead this autumn.
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