meadowblythe

I think you can compare any schools in a number of areas: Breadth of dance curriculum Pastoral Care Academics Boarding facilities Performance Opportunities Food! Destination of Leavers SEND support Quality of dance tuition General wellbeing/healthiness of students Weekend/evening activities for boarders off the top of my head ..

Good luck to you all ... my DS loved his time at RCS and the teaching and pastoral care he received was truly excellent. Amazing to think it's seven years since he left.

Couldn't agree more. Thinking broader, teachers who believe in their students are the key to all the happy experiences my children have had across the arts disciplines.

Don't forget there will be a lot of movement - MDS's can become available right to the end of the summer holidays.

MyDS's girlfriend is Brazilian. They both dance in the EU (were out there when we came out of Europe). She is on a much less favourable, month-to-month contract than my DS. Suspect the UK dancers will be on the same.

We always picked European summer schools because they were cheaper than the UK ones! I would honestly say its not worth doing any summer school to be seen, but it is for the life experience and the training. If DS hand't been to Austria (?) and Copenhagen on his own I'm not sure he would have been able to successfully move abroad when he was just 18. Experience of friends who paid a fortune for the "name" ones .. so did everyone else and the classes were crowded.

If it's a girl who hasn't previous been at the school, good news!

I think the problem lies in the words "fair" and "ballet" in the same sentence. (Other art forms can be substituted as appropriate!)

Swimming in the rivers in the centre of a city is an experience not to be missed.

My son did this about 10 years ago .. fantastic experience, high quality teaching and good calibre of students. Copenhagen is beautiful in the summer. He went on his own and stayed in an airbnb with a family (yes I am/was an unfit parent) and zoomed around the city on a bicycle.

Sorry, but my experience is that there are remarkable similarities between the two. Favouritism, cliques forming, mental health and physical health issues, but also strong bonds and friendships which endure. And the chance of a professional career post conservatoire purely in an orchestra is probably about the same too. Probably at top level even more elitist .. instruments can run into the high tens of thousands to buy!

Don't forget if your application is unsuccessful, you can withdraw and submit a fresh application for an academic course - either at any point in the year or once results are received. Obviously many of the popular courses may be full, and it rules out Early Entry courses/institutions. Good luck!

I like the idea of emphasising that she is "going to boarding school," not leaving home. It's an important distinction My son had a wobble before he went. I wish now I'd taken his concerns more seriously. With hindsight: Don't follow what works for everyone else - you know your child, do what is right for them. Don't feel you have to keep away - if you know your child will benefit from seeing you every weekend then do so! As mentioned, take concerns seriously. Any change of school is a big deal. Re-assurance that they don't have to go - not letting anyone down. And if it doesn't work for them you'll support them. A constant flow of postcards/treats from home in the first few weeks. So they know they are thinking of them and supporting them. The lifesaver for my DS was an older student who had been through the same anxieties and homesickness. Is there anyone with a DC already at the school who could "buddy up" with your DD? Even before term so they can ask them all the "silly but not silly" questions?

You can apply for a second student loan if you are applying for certain NHS shortage areas https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/career-planning/study-and-training/considering-or-university/financial-support-university

Students who don't get places in medical schools often end up in places like Czechia and Bulgaria. Courses are taught in English and qualifications were accepted, in EU days, here. Don't know the current situation. I know some Dutch university courses are taught in English as, presumably, are those in Ireland. My DS once met one of my ex-students in a bar in the town where they both lived! As others have said, it's different. Also, the standard of accommodation is not what a UK student used to their £200+ a week ensuite would be expecting. Sharing a double bed with a stranger is not unknown. But the cost of the accommodation reflects this. However, if you are up for an adventure and realistic about what you are getting into, it does offer the opportunity to live abroad, understand different cultures and gain a degree without a mountain of student debt.

@BalletBoysDad to clarify my DS went from one MDS school to another. The comparison I am making is about academics at differing vocational schools.

Unless things have changed dramatically, I would suggest that not all dance schools offer the widest, or most rigorous, of academic educations. Some do and are proud of it. When my DS was assessed out at the end of year 9, one of the biggest problems when moving to another vocational school, was that he was so far behind academically and he had passed 2 selective grammar school entrance exams with flying colours. If potential parents place as much importance on academics as dance, pick your school with care.

Can I just suggest that occasionally this isn't always the case? My DS was assessed out of his first school, had two happy years and went on to Upper School. He was way behind in the first year , nearly left. But in the second year something clicked and he went on, though never a favourite, to a career in ballet. He is currently sharing a role with a fellow student from his very first school - the other student stayed through to 6.3 in the original school. Different routes to Rome. But I agree with everything Pups_mum says!

Huge fan of the brand generally - excellent customer service and quality of product. Can't comment on the dancewear!

Hello! Our school production this year, being staged in October, is Anything Goes, so lots of tap dancing. As I would like the owners of our local town hall, where we perform. and our gym department, where we rehearse, to be speaking to me at Christmas I'm looking to buy any old flooring you may have - condition not important. We are a state secondary school so don't have unlimited funds. Many thanks for your help ...

Is that where your DD is heading? I hope she has a wonderful time!

Does anyone know if this is the production which started at the Chichester Festival? We are doing it as our school musical (why? just why?) and one of my production crew has a sister who SM'd the Chichester production. Going to the Barbican picked up E2-4 cheap during the EMR promotion. Don't care what I can see as long as I can hear the glorious music!!

the exact expression used on one occasion, when she and the female horn player were meant to repeat stuff again and again (on their own for no reason) was "I hope there are not going to be girl tears." And yes, she did take it up with the head of department.

In my experience, both with Dancing DS and Musical DD, not being chosen for performances is the biggest sign that for whatever reason you are not considered a suitable advertisement for that institution. And yes, literally with DS two of them not being chosen for the majority of performances (and standing at the back when they were) and watching others go off for external engagements. Ironically musical DD, a brass player, has encountered a huge amount of prejudice because there are so few female brassers about. You just can't win. It's not pleasant and sometimes things change, sometimes they don't. One of the ironies for DS when in year 10/11 he was one of the more natural ballet students was that because that school insisted on a more equitable distribution of roles he still didn't get to do the the performances some staff wanted him to undertake. However, I emphasise that being assessed out was, in the long run, the right thing for his mental and and physical health and didn't stop him making a career as a professional ballet dancer.

My DS assessed out at the end of year 9 - told he would make a dancer, but never a ballet dancer. Now a soloist in a small national ballet company, dancing exclusively ballet rep. He was never good enough to make it to a UK main company but he's happy and fulfilled. Being assessed out was the best thing that happened to him. He had the prestige of a top-flight school on his CV (when you could still get a job in Europe!) and spent two happy years at a school he was more suited to for years 10-11. He had been totally miserable and neglected up until that point. Several offers for US but was able to have the confidence to "go with his gut" and pick the school he felt he would be happiest at, and had the resilience to move further away and live a more independent life. I used to look at my upper sixth, angsting about having to move 40 miles from home next year knowing my son, who was the same age, was living on a flat with a jazz musician in Glasgow several hundred miles from home!