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If in Stratford Upon Avon I'm usually waiting for techie son by the stage door. The actors coming out seem to genuinely enjoy the interaction with their fans, particularly the younger ones. Although this tends to be a quick signature of the programme, I've rarely if ever seen them asked for a selfie.

Not one to defend adjudicators, but from musical festival experience, adjudicators often seemed to start with a general comment - presentation, how you introduced the piece, posture .. before getting into the performance itself. For those for whom it is not their day, this is an opportunity to praise - for those who have done really well, an opportunity to suggest something to be improved next time.

No good for this year, but there are Mid associates as well as juniors. As others have mentioned, full time training could be funded by an MDS which is means tested. Also, linking on other threads do consider other forms of dance than "just" ballet. Contemporary, jazz, tap, maybe even MT or street - they all have their place in the dancer's portfolio.

It's worth bearing in mind that many vocational schools don't do any actual exam work - or very little. Same at vocational music school. as Mummy Twinkletoes suggests, it's this wider vocabulary that can make the difference at an audition. Looking further ahead, as a professional dancer you may well be standing at the side of the stage learning the steps for your next entrance - I know of this experience in both classical and MT. Being able to process very fast is a really useful skill, very different from months of perfecting an exam piece.

Likewise - although we are well within the DADA threshhold, my DS decided that five years of being funded by his parents through vocational school were enough. He decided on a degree course with generous scholarships available. Fortunately it worked out well for us - my musical DD is auditioning at the same institution today! Sometimes you just can't have something. However hard, it's just the way it is. No, my son couldn't audition for some places because we simply could not afford the plane fare. Yes he was lucky in getting offers very early. But is does mean, again, he chose a company in a place he could afford to live on the salary paid, and where we could afford to visit him (cheaper than a trip to DD at her vocational school).

Must admit Chantry was my first thought - I think a lot of their work is very much this style, I guess a nice fusion of the artistic directors' backgrounds. RCS less so, I may be wrong but believe although the degree is called Modern Ballet, the ballet taught is predominantly classical.

Ha, seems cheap to me - doing music auditions and RAM, RCM and Guildhall are over £100 each.

Here's a link to the NUS scheme - pays for itself many times over. You have to be in the sixth form to get one, but school is fine, doesn't have to be college. https://www.nus.org.uk/en/nus-extra/festudentdiscounts/

I'm producer of our school play. There are many (many!) long evenings and weekends when I wonder why on earth I let it take over my life. But, just one word of thanks from a child who I know is fragile, damaged, or simply having a hard time and I know. For some, it is a shining moment in a difficult life, when they are, as you say, part of something where the whole is greater than the parts. In the mean time, if anyone knows where I can get hold of some large domed serving dishes ..

Lisa Sounds like Sean is growing up fast - making decisions and taking control of things. Good luck to him, and you. I hope it all goes well.

Know of successful students who have gone to Hamburg (school and then company) without even GCSE German. DS joined a Czech company without any language GCSEs at all (and no, I'm not proud of this ..). By October he could "take class, order beer, order any type of pizza and play poker" in Czech And he really felt it covered the essentials. Alison is right, it's a different skill to live abroad to pass a GCSE. It certainly helps, but most students survive. It's more a desire to embrace the opportunity.

Lisa, wondering how Sean is getting on? Has he gone to Uni yet>

Their employment record is very good - more than happy to discuss by PM (my son graduated 2016) but because others on this forum have children who they may not want identified, would prefer not to post. The cohorts are so small it's easy to see who is who.

Fiz Did you go and how was it? Were the BBF in evidence?

From memory, you can get a free British Rail ID card for under 16 travel if you say you are buying a season ticket. DD had one as she bought a weekly ticket once, and it was really useful as it has their DOB on it. Next year she didn't buy a season ticket, but did get a new ID card which worked well on busses (and trains!) etc as proof of age. She was making a long weekly rail journey so I didn't feel too bad.

RCS also have a ballet degree, and a lot of the English students also are awarded scholarships in addition to student funding. It's a small course, taking between 6 and 16 students per year. The year my son graduated 10 out of the 13 got jobs in companies, a mix of apprenticeships and full places. Two of the others onto ballet related degrees. Not so sure about this year's graduates. Halls in the first year were expensive, but Glasgow obviously has a lower cost of living after that than London. Incidentally, you can stay in halls for all 3 years if you chose to, and finances allow.

Point taken - I wonder if it would be better if classes (and this is a general comment, not ballet specific) indicated general level of intensity/expertise rather than setting arbitrary age restraints.

Really interested to receive an email about the RAD silver Swans, as I am definitely the target age group. Less than enchanted to discover that the nearest centre to me runs the class at 11 am. I am 11 years off my state retirement age. There is no way I will be retiring a day before this - too much accumulated ballet/music debt. Why are the only classes open to me aimed at lithe young things? Anything 50 plus seems to be at 11am on a Tuesday morning. 😠😠😠

I must the question I have pondered (but would not suggest he asks!) is whether they will be asked to leave during/after the surgery, should any of them take that route. At what stage?

Not sure about London, but DS rented privately in Glasgow aged 16. As parents we acted as guarantor, but we did with his 18 year old big brother at uni. Looking back it seems incredible how much our children cope with at a young age. I wonder if they will all find life totally boring at 30? Presumably a lot of them will be on their second, if not third, career by then.

Students. Year xxxx. The point is if you are talking to a group of students, you shouldn't identify them by gender.

At the all-girl school where my husband teaches, they have been banned from referring to the students as "girls" or "ladies." Apparently it is to do with the LGBTIQ issues; some of them may be considering gender re-alignment. Shame, I have always found "ladies" a very workable way of getting the attention of a group of young females - I always worked on the principal if it worked for my favourite ballet teacher it would work for me. It has sufficient novelty value to make them stop and it is entirely non judgemental.

Which does she enjoy? There are so many associate programmes it doesn't have to be JA's or nothing. And plenty get in to vocational schools (including WL) without having been a JA. I would go further - it can be you have not already been "pre-assessed," and are seen with a fresh set of eyes and no preconceptions.

I heard the Women's Rugby Squad referred to as girls the other day. Ouch.

Hopefully there will be others going in the same direction, maybe you can organise a lift share? I studied for an Open University degree during my peak "chauffeuring" period. Maybe a bit of an extreme reaction to one panto season but maybe a short course or similar? A favourite joke in our household: What's the definition of an optimist? Someone looking forward to panto!