BoyOhBoy

I've had a YES for my DS for Week 2 at WL! Very exciting! I realise how incredibly lucky we are - good luck to all the Wait List DCs and sorry for all the Not this Time's!

Hi Jackaroomom i just saw your post from last month and thought I could give you some answers as my DS did WLSS in 2013, when he was 10. We were all a bit nervous as he had never been away from home before, though we were lucky as we have friends who live nearby so we stayed with them for the week he was there "just in case"! Anyway, it was all fine! My son was a in the boys' block which is in the basement of WL - i think the girls accommodation is a bit more modern but the boys all seemed happy enough! He was in a room with about 4 or 5 other boys and there were another 5 or 6 in an adjacent room sharing shower/toilets. He was taught in a boys' class, as another poster said there were probably 3 boys classes, less than the girls classes, I think there were two younger boys classes and one older boys. Id say maybe 60-70 boys in total? The teachers were great, they had a variety of different teachers during the week for different dance styles and at the final demonstration at the end of the week we got to see these. I was blown away! They all looked fabulous to me! My DS barely had any contact with the girls during the week as they were all on separate schedules but he made lots of friends. Many of the students were from outside the UK. Some kids got homesick but the school seemed to handle that well. They were busy all the time with activities in the evening too - mostly fun stuff like bbq or walks in Richmond park or movie night. We got his ballet teacher to position him for the photos and I took them. Seemed to work out ok! hope this helps!

JupiterSmith - took me ages to figure that out too! DS= Dancing son, DD = Dancing Daughter, DC = Dancing child(ren)...at least that is what i think they all mean!! the Experience Day stuff is all on the website - though I have tried to register for Leeds in Feb and it says it is sold out so may I have missed the boat! http://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/?s=junior+associate+experience+day

Thanks Angel! Thanks Tinydancer! Good to hear some other views! Glad your DD really enjoyed it Angel, and sorry you had same reaction as us, tinydancer! Interesting, eh! All a bit of a learning experience! My DS was in the morning session, he is 11 but he seemed to think the average age was 12-13. He is a MA and has done various Associate workshops but found this tough. Interesting to hear that the WL staff thought it was tough too though! Thanks v much for feedback!

Yes, I am! My DS has been a JA and is now a MA and as a result my 7-yr old DD is very very keen to audition! Am under no illusions though (thankfully, wiser second time around!) - i know it is tough to get a JA place, tougher for girls as there is a lot more competition and, at our centre at least, tough to get a Yr 4 place. But we are going to give it a try! The nice thing is that everyone who applies gets an audition so good for the kids to get a sense of the teaching, the programme and the process even if they are unsuccessful first time around. There's never any harm in trying again! Good luck to you and your DC if you decide to go for it, JupiterSmith!

I would be really interested to hear feedback from any other DC who attended the Paris Opera Masterclass yesterday at Covent Garden? My DS came out feeling quite despondent: felt he was possibly the youngest there, didn't know many of the steps and struggled to understand the teacher even when he was speaking English (which apparently wasn't much of the time!).

My DS is an MA but there was no automatic place for MAs. We had to apply, with the photos and the same standard application form - though I believe there may have been a box to tick for MA.

Yes got an e-mail yesterday too with a place for my DS. I'm more excited than he is - which is par for the course!!! Now it is just the logistics to sort out!

My DS also just started MA having moved up from JA. My understanding is that we don't have to re-apply to move up to the next year (i.e. fill out the forms all over again); the assessment process takes place as part of the course (though the actual assessment is not on a class day but i think usually a week day). All centres have different assessment dates, I think some are April and some are May.

Congratulations for you and your DD, Happymum!

Mids e-mails are out! Or at least, just got one here - a yes for my DS who is currently a JA. I'm shocked, did not expect a yes!

Hi Alfred71 and welcome! My DS is currently a Yr6 JA, in his second year as a JA. I agree that the odds of getting a JA place are not high, but I still think it is worth a shot. I think even the audition process is a great learning experience. When my DS auditioned (not in London) there were probably about 25 auditionees and 3 were offered places. I would agree that it is very hard to second-guess what the RBS is looking for, but definitely at Yr4 entry point to JAs it would be unlikely to be based on a particular shape as the children are still so young. I'm sure they do look at feet, technical ability, musicality etc and broadly, potential. However if your DD is lucky enough to be offered a JA place then she will learn so much and have some great opportunities! And even if that is as far as it goes, in my opinion anyway, then that is fantastic! My DS has been invited to two workshops at Covent Garden as a JA (he could only attend one of them but it was a great experience!) and has been invited both years to watch a pre-general rehearsal at the Royal Opera House! Pretty cool! We are currently waiting to hear about a Mids place. I think yes, it does depend to a certain extent on how many children are looking for places (which they won't know until all vocational school offers have been sent out), but we were certainly advised that the children who get to the final at WL (which my DS didn't) are the ones who get offered Mids places first. Rightly so. We've been told Mids places will be confirmed early April. I'm not sure my DS will make it to Mids but regardless, JAs has been a great experience. Hard work, yes, and you do get tied up in all the stress of auditions in Year 6, but the teaching is excellent and my boy has developed and learned so much as a result. Good luck!

What great posts, Petalviolet, and definitely a refreshing breath of fresh air! I wish your DD all the very best of luck! All I had to add was that when my DS auditioned for JAs I had ZERO idea what I was doing, and had not discovered this forum. I sent him in his regular black cycle shorts that he wore for ballet anyway - so far so good. But then stressed because it asked for "tight" t-shirts and his regular white ballet one wasn't - to my eye - especially tight. The tightest one I could find was red with a huge, bright Ferrari emblem on the front! I fell such an idiot when I got there and all the girls looked so much the part (he was the only boy auditioning that day for that centre). Luckily, the number I had to pin on him more-or-less covered the Ferrari! And...he still got offered a place! So for me the moral of the tale was as long as the DC feels comfortable in something they can move easily in, then you have got it right!

Congratulations to all the Yes's so far, and so sorry to hear about the other No's. Sandsfoot, sorry to hear about your No. My DS also got the "performed well" comment, but didn't get a "strongly being considered for MA's", although in fact the MA is what we were really hoping for (didn't really ever, ever, expect a WL place!). I am a bit taken aback in reading your post as I didn't know that they wrote that on some of the e-mails. I was consoling myself that we were still in the running for consideration for a MA place but now I guess I was wrong! Does anyone else have any insight into this?

Manchester (boys at least) lower school audition results are out too...it was a No for my DS. its what I expected, but not what I hoped for! Oh well, at least the wait is over!

Twoballerinas0004, we dropped our DS off on Monday at week 1 of Summer School. We had send the form for demonstration tickets back with our other forms, and the tickets were waiting for us there with his Welcome Pack. So you should be fine! Can't wait to go back on Saturday, watch the demonstration and collect our boy! Mimi'smom, yes there is indeed a carpark there though it got very busy by the time everyone had arrived!

hi Everyone ZooZoo that is a really good point. My DS is also going this year and I am already a bit worried about him getting homesick. He has been away from home before but not for this long. I was going to send him with a phone but now I'm in two minds! Enpoint75 which week is your DS going? Mine is first week. Not long now!

Sounds great Squeaky! As long as he enjoyed it and came out happy, that is the main thing! Class sizes seem to vary greatly between centres - I don't think there is a set class size - well there is probably a maximum but I wouldn't know how high that is. At our centre the Yrs 4, 5 and 6 are in the same JA class so all our Yr 6's will be moving out of the class, making room for new students across all 3 year groups. So the number of new places given will depend on how much space is freed up AND how many good students they saw at the audition. Good luck! You are right, it is the waiting to hear that is the worst!!!

Hi Squeaky, Yes, our classes are once a week, mainly term-time, and they are 2.5hrs. I think some centres have fortnightly lessons. Most are on a Saturday or Sunday but I believe some centres have Friday classes? My boy has found it quite intensive (he's pretty tired when he comes out!) but it has made a huge difference to his strength and technique. The teacher is truly excellent. He still does his regular classes at home too and his regular teacher has seen a big difference in his dancing as a result of the JA class. He also has exercises to do at home which he is meant to do every day! Hope this helps and good luck again!

Hi Squeaky! Good luck to your DS! This was my DS this time last year so I know how you feel. My DS looked so nervous going in...especially as there were so many more girls! But he was offered a place and we are now nearing the end of his first year as a JA. I think the advice you have given him is perfect. Try to enjoy himself, listen carefully to the teachers. Oh, and obvious things like make sure he goes to the loo before he goes in!!!! :-) Very best of luck to him!

Hello, my first ever post on these boards so I may not get it right! My DS has been offered Week 1 WL Summer School and I am thrilled, surprised and apprehensive in equal measures! He is a JA, but only since Sept so we are pretty new to all of this and I don't know terribly much about the summer school except what I have picked up from other JA Mums at our centre. I'm very sorry for all those who got a No or a Wait List e-mail! Would love to hear of any others who have got Week 1 offer...especially any other boys!!!