meadowblythe

whilst I would hesitate to post a link from the telegraph under normal circumstances http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9700573/No-exam-university-courses-fuel-rise-in-first-class-degrees.html I would, however, dispute that assertion that non-examined degrees are less hard to obtain. Stephen Fry allegedly only attended two lectures in 3 years at Cambridge - he would never have been able to do this and pass if he was working on a coursework basis.

Some good advice from Aileen above. Whilst I wouldn't mention it now, there are plenty of degrees you can do without sitting an exam, depends on the subject. They are no easier, just different. The situation on AS levels is pretty fluid in most schools right now. Various courses are linear/modular and different schools have different policies even within that. The cynic in me sees an element of cost cutting ... Meadowblythe

At my daughter's music vocational school the expectation is that all music specialists will take dual award to allow them time to practice. They have special set for them. In fact she is one of only two specialists to be sitting 11 GCSE's including the three sciences. She started with the view that if it was too much she could always drop down - but she is stubborn enough to have kept going. I suspect we will have the same debate at A level!

Things for the boys: well, the back to backs are well worth a visit - I know they don't sound that brilliant but unless things have changed, the guides were brilliant and the street closets and eyeball collection were a winner with mine. Also the sweet shop next door ... It's a hop and skip away from BRB. Sealife is expensive but worth a look, and there is a load going on at millenium point including think tank and a 3d imax cinema. If symphony hall has one of their tours on, they are great. Can also recommend Big Wok as my favourite chinese buffet - £7 for an adult at lunch time, we still go there every single time we go back to Birmingham.

One of the Heads of Year at the school where I work is a fanatical Leicester City Fan. I did consider asking if he was going to follow Gary Linekar's example and lead assembly in his briefs, but he is rather scary so I decided against it!

I've followed this with interest, and cannot resist adding my two penneth, both from the point of view of a dance and music MDS establishment. The bottom line, as I see it, is does your daughter want to dance? Does she want it badly enough to accept that other things - and this includes the best GCSE results - may have to go by board. Lamentably, rarely can you have it all. My son was assessed out of one vocational ballet school at the end of year 9, and found that the new one had far higher standards of academics than the one he had left. This lead to some fairly unwise GCSE options as he hadn't realised how far behind he had fallen (and neither had we). He went straight from GCSEs to a degree and feels he has missed out on the academic rigour of A levels, something he regrets. My daughter unexpectedly went to a mixed cathedral and music school on an MDS - she started at the beginning of year 10. Coming from a secure academic background (high achieving state grammar), I felt she would have enough good training to come out with a reasonable set of GCSEs come what may. In fact, she has flourished both musically and academically and I feel the reason is that she has superb pastoral care, both in the boarding house and from her form tutor. Regarding the finances - we are not rich and did not expect to put a second child through private education, MDS or otherwise it still costs. A lot. But somehow you manage, you have to ask yourself if it is important enough and a good enough set up to justify the cost. This is a long and rambling post but I would summarise : Does your child want to be a dancer - it has to be their choice not yours Is the whole school set up good enough - do you trust them with your child Life isn't fair, you can't allocate money equally. Different children have different needs at different times. Which is more important to you, and your child - the academic or vocational training. There is never a simple or right answer. You have to have faith in your child, in the school, in your Gods, and make the best decision you can on the information you have at the time.

Extremely cross with dancing son, for underplaying his role in Dream on! and telling me not to bother going to see it. Very proud parent. Stage manager son has been feeding a running commentary on Shakespeare Live! Very funny but probably libellous if I published. By 5.30 it was ".. fourth set of police dogs arriving now .." Practice? Bishop? pretending they are not happening.

DS and Dame Judi in the same lift yesterday. Or to put it another way "now I've stood so close to M, that practically makes me James Bond"

Just a quick heads up - BRB are part of the Shakespeare Live! event being shown on BBC2 tonight (according to RSC DS the floor is narrower than ideal for them) and RCS dancers are being live streamed on iplayer as part of the Dream On! event in Glasgow. In fact, you can admire my DS' back if you follow this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ehw2mb/acts/ax5n5v

Watching both DS' on iplayer - stagemanager DS is involved in the Stratford Shakespeare celebrations, and dancing DS is performing in the Glasgow celebration. Wish I could go to either, particularly Glasgow as it is a piece he choregraphed himself, but the bishop is coming to our church to take communion Sunday morning and I'm the organist! So also practice, practice, practice ...

Seconded again - my son felt he learnt more at Hammond than his previous institution - the learning style suited him and the teachers went the extra mile (or 7). My previous worries - living off site, being bussed in, turned out to be strengths as it gave him a "home" and "school" environment, and the wider range of student strengths and aspirations meant they were able to respect each other's skills without always being in direct competition for one part. And you can play football there, even as a dancer! My overwhelming impression is of a very fair school, where everyone was respected and given the chance, and parts in productions were, as far as possible, shared equally. Academically it was streets above his previous school. this is from the mother of a ballet-till-I-die boy, who has been able to continue in that discipline (and avoided street dance classes for two years, and loved his two years in bottom group tap!)

When a child in my daughter's nursery school died, I saw her mother at a fair. I went and said how sorry I was, she was delighted that someone had actually spoken to her, apparently the worse thing about the whole business was feeling like a pariah, people wouldn't talk to her as they didn't know what to say.

Given that many of our children will be living and dancing abroad at the age of 18, being able to look after themselves in this country seems an excellent idea ..

3 hour drive to visit MIL in hospital then overnight stay on way to taking musical DD back to school. She has GCSEs so trying to keep it all calm and positive, however much I am personally dreading her going back, I will miss her so much.

If in doubt - ring the school and ask! Much better preparation than spending the weekend worrying. Love the idea of organizing new classes in advance, my musical daughter has had all sorts of opportunities as a result of me planning for a no! This year will be her third (and possibly final) attempt at a place in the CBSO Youth Orchestra. She didn't want to do it again, but the thought of a day shopping and possible concerts in Symphony Hall made my case for me. We are looking at the audition as an excuse for a meet up and a great lunch.

I see that Northern Ballet are performing Beauty and the Beast this winter. I still remember going to see this with my son when he was about 5. It was the most exciting thing he had ever seen, all he could talk about all winter was the Beast, how athletic he was, how high he jumped. Music and costumes also made a huge impact on me, I can picture it now 13 years later. If any of you have boys who have a musical soul, do try and see it.

Many years ago the Chelsea squad were all taken to White Lodge to take class - to help with core stability.

Had the courage of my convictions. Like others, changed dance school when still at home Picked the vocational school where I felt he would be happy, rather than relying on pecking order Not got wound up about festivals! Having said that, my son says the early problems have given him the skills to deal with the bigger issues that life has throw at him (at the grand old age of 18). And my daughter, on an MDS for music, has unquestionably learnt from his mistakes.

Also to add to the confusion, GCSE's are changing from A*-G (I think!) to grades 9-1 (9 is the best). Can I add Pre-U as an equivalent to A levels - my daughter is likely to take one Pre-U and a mix of linear and modular A levels!

I was caricatured (quite nicely, to my relief) in the house plays at school. Two themes appeared across various plays: an unhealthy obsession with new library shelving and a catchphrase "so what is the Plan B?"

I would have dismissed Btecs until my non dancing son took one, has gone from strength to strength, so maybe not the end of the world if you end up taking one if everything else fits? Picking UEA at random: the BCS in Physiotherapy specifies they want DDD with 6 biology modules as an entry requirement. It also states that they screen first on personal statement, and presumably this is where your daughter, like all dancers, can stand out. My understanding is that personal statements are becoming more and more important, and our children's life skills, able to demonstrate determination, teamwork, motivation and a host of other characteristics will hopefully make them strong candidates.

According to the prospectus at my daughter's school (music vocational) the modular (AS content not re-examined at the end of A2) subjects from this September are Maths Italian History of Art Latin Classics Pretty much everything else is linear, including Music (not Music Tech), French and German.

I am a huge fan of Symphony Hall - and particularly the egalitarian design: the tickets of choice for the folks who work there are up at the back (the cheap ones!). Acoustics are just superb. Huge fan of Jamie Phillips too - he was/is conductor of the Halle Youth Orchestra. My daughter would not have the musical aspirations she has today without his leadership. The tickets are even more of a bargain than highlighted above - they are free for under 25s. Can feel a family visit looming ..

An Archers related request - can I remove Rob and Ursula Titchenor (polite form!) from the programme, and expunge them both from my memory? I have never before dreaded listening as I do now, and as I have listened as long as I can remember - had to pull off at the services and take a good half an hour to recover when Mark Hebden died - it's been a long time. And yes, I do know this means absolutely nothing to some of you, apologies!

Personally I think anyone who has the courage to share a "no" deserves a huge pat on the back - it is so easy to get a skewed view of how well "everyone else" is doing. Our children were always aware that they would not be going anywhere without funding. Even so, it horrifies me how little money they have compared with others they were/are at school with, but as my daughter pragmatically put it, "well, you wouldn't have afforded the skiing trip if I had been at my old school" (true: and that was France not Canada!) If you are straight and upfront about whether a place will be taken if funding is not forthcoming, in a very short time children bounce back. It is us parents who feel the guilt for years to come ..