meadowblythe

As related else where, I was pretty dubious of an Extended Btech Diploma as an alternative to A levels, but my DS, who is studying for one of these beasties, has had offers from everywhere he has applied. I must confess I also rang up 3 universities (including Durham, thought Oxford was pushing my luck) to ask if they accepted them, and they said yes they are just as welcome as a more traditional qualification. So good luck to your son - the world needs good Social workers and he'll never be out of a job!

JB I shall make a point of coming and meeting you next time I visit the rellies in Essex - in fact it makes the whole idea vastly more appealing! And then take the very short stroll down to the beach no doubt boring my children witless as I regale them with tales of having grown up very close to your shop ...

which station is it near?? And can I also recommend the Degas men's leotard - it has a beautifully cut neck line, very West Side Story. DS spent a considerable number of minutes admiring himself in it ..... meadowblythe

Julie A boy I knew last year was desperate to study medicine. He didn't get any offers but was short listed by Edinburgh. He kept in contact throughout the year, just gentle chats, asking for updates on how/what to do if he ended up re-applying and for info on the state of the waiting list. They got funding in April to take on some extra students and immediately offered him a place.

Notice that the royal scottish conservatoire has put its closing date back to 31st March. Like many, I have long held out against starting degrees at 16 on the grounds that it cuts off options later, but to put a different spin on things .. From what I can see, the cost of funding my child through a second degree, given they will get some study credit for the first, could be less than the cost of 6th form education. Admittedly I am looking at the OU/distance learning route, but it makes me feel more comfortable about the BA at 16 route. And I have found that my OU degree is of slightly more use to me than my original degree taken via a more conventional route! Meadowblythe

I am so proud - eldest non dancing DS who had, shall we say, mixed GCSE results has just been offered a place to study stage management at Central for next September, in a year of record applications for the course and a smaller intake. That will teach me to sneer at Extended Btec Diplomas - he has, so far, been offered a place everywhere he applied. Now just a matter of getting DDM for aforementioned Btec but hey ho .. So I may well be in the interesting position of having two DSs starting degree courses at the same time, despite being 2 school years apart! Meadowblythe PS: does anyone know anything about Central (drama, not dance!)

Life of Pi for me. It's like a good wine - go slowly and savour every sip. (Actually I'm afraid I glub all wine regardless of quality. Particularly on a Friday.) Also about to start Secrets by Veronica Podbury - a YA but looks quite good, - for work. Meadowblythe

Do you have to be female to attend? Ages given are all for girls!

A quick heads up for those of you auditioning next year ... Attended an audition at the Conservatoire on Thursday. Very impressed by the staff, the facilities and the links with Scottish Ballet. Third year students, and a few second year, take class with the company, and Christopher Hampton is, apparently, spending half a week there. Also really like the set up where you have very close ties with the rest of the Conservatoire so a genuinely stimulating atmosphere and a chance to mix with other creative types - and even those like eldest DS who is co-incidentally applying for stage management there. Oh, and its a Modern Ballet degree because it covers contemporary as well as ballet and modern as well as classical ballets. And they have scholarships twoards the costs for some non Scottish applicants as well as being able to get the standard grant. The scholarships are awarded for all three years of the course. I know there are others on this forum with more experience of the Conservatoire than I, but we were genuinely blown away by the friendliness, small class size (they take 12 students each year), and the standard of work observed when DS visited on the open day. Now, do I risk uncrossing my fingers and toes before finding where I put the kitchen sink in preparation for the next audition? Meadowblythe

Thank you - for complicated reasons actually looking more south London or Glasgow (yes, I know they aren't near each other ..) And to further depress us lucky year 11 parents how much does all this realistically cost, especially if they move out of hostels? And our DCs think they have the hard part they only have to dance, oh, and pass their GCSEs . Is it too late to change careers now ? Meadowblythe

As if the auditions aren't stressful enough ..... Does anyone have any insight on accommodation for 16-18 dance students, especially in London or Glasgow? Or about finding suitable lodgings (anywhere!) Of course it may all be wishful thinking ... Meadowblythe

one of my students, in year 8 (so age 13ish) has put in a request for a Sophie Kinsella novel. I'm not exactly a fan of ms Kinsella but just wanted to sanity check if any of you had DDs who read these books - are they suitable for this age group? A quick flick through shows nothing too unsavoury but just wanted to check. For 13 upwards though I am thoroughly enjoying Matched by Ally Condie, for boys of all ages I'm also enjoying the Young Bond series by Charlie Higson. thank you! Meadowblythe

Julie How well you know my son ... yes, the sword fighting gets it every time. The reason he gave was that the friend who is accompanying us hasn't seen Romeo and Juliet and he felt she needed to see it to enhance her musical education! Like yourself I saw this company a few years ago and was not impressed, but will post a review after our trip to Scunnie. Meadowblythe

Moscow City Ballet are visiting the new Scunthorpe theatre, the Baths Hall in February. I can only afford one performance so would you go for Romeo and Juliet or Sleeping Beauty? We're taking my DS with us, who is seriously considering training in the Russian ballet style. Your thoughts appreciated meadowblythe

Aha This is so useful - my DS was recently told by a (Russian) ballet teacher he had fantastic feet BUT they were no use to him while his knees were so dreadful. Twas ever thus with ballet - for years struggles with core stability - being overcome by a combination of cycling and (a little) natural growth. So now its the knees! I suspect it will be the same with musical DD - is now finally getting to grips with double and triple tounging on the cornet - no doubt another challenge will rear its ugly head. meadowblythe

Anyone know anything of the destination of students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland?

I wondered if anyone had worked out how the Dadas are working from September - now the schools have more discretion will this affect how funding is allocated? Also, how does the maintenance element work? From the Tring Park website "awards for new students will however now be income assessed for both school fees and maintenance on the basis of a national scale – with students from lower income families contributing less and those from higher income families contributing more. " Does this mean that a school, given it controls its DaDa budget, will be more inclined to take a student requiring less funding? Of course I may have completely misinterpreted this! Meadowblythe

Remember boys can be too flexible - if it interferes with strength it becomes a problem. My DS is incredibly flexible, but has, as a consequence, a weak core and that's not good. At all. It's all about getting the balance right. Meadowblythe

One thing that struck a chord with me with your original post is applying " as she wants to perform on stage." Depending on the vocational school you choose, the luck of the draw, and a million other factors please be aware that many vocational school children only perform for a couple of minutes in the end of year show, and that may not even be ballet! Summer schools, EYB, NYB et al may offer far greater opportunities for performance. I thoroughly endorse Stirrups comments above - great advice. My personal follow up would be to go with an open mind. We let head rule heart, and chose the most prestigious place offered, thinking we could "easily" change if it didn't work out, even though my gut feel was we were possibly making a mistake. (We were!) Good luck on your journey Meadowblythe

Although not a pointe shoe shopper, huge endorsement for Dancia who were so helpful last month when I was shopping for DS last month - unlike Bloch who couldn't have been more snooty and made me feel very uncomfortable. The assistant who helped me in Dancia is an ex Hammond student btw. meadowblythe

An update - I found this a really great way to spend a lunchtime! David Nixon explained how the piece came into being, the particular challenges for the company and staging issues. I really enjoyed watching the work "come alive", and seeing how the dancers rehearse and learn. Will definitely be there to see the finished article, although without the younger members of our party - I hadn't realised the fairly adult themes involved (but then they didn't pick them up anyway!) meadowblythe

DS had a wonderful week at their summer school - truly inspirational. If the associate class is anywhere near as good your DD is in for a treat!

What a brilliant idea ! Just the thing for a day out with DS and a dancing friend who is staying next week.

Apologies if this has been covered before but .... What if you don't have a teacher? My DS is at vocational school and, for various reasons, has no "home" school for holidays. We have yet to find a teacher (we are in a very rural area) who is willing to take on a new student for holidays only. Although he cycles and runs to keep fit - currently cycling well over 10 miles per day and at quite some speed - unless he is at summer school (ouch! expensive!) he is unable to prepare for exams etc he is taking shortly on his return to school. This is a serious question and I would really appreciate your input. meadowblythe

Sort of related to this, how do you "get help" if you do not have a "home" ballet school - DS is at vocational school but does not have a dance school when at home - its a bit hard to get someone to teach you during the holidays! So having received an end of term report recommending improvement on a certain area- in the past its been core - how can you work on this? I agree DVDs are not always the best answer, but without access to a ballet teacher sometimes its a case of dong the best you can. meadowblythe