invisiblecircus

According to their website the fees are £9,940.00 per term including boarding for years 7-11.

13 Year olds need not apply?

Open auditions are usually advertised in "The Stage" newspaper. Some children have an agent who puts them forward for auditions. As other's have said, Jo Hawes is the children's administrator for many west end and touring shows. Her website currently appears to be down but on there you can find details of shows which are currently auditioning and details of how to apply for an audition.

On the subject of it "all coming down to how the candidate performs on the day," what do people think about auditions that take place over a longer period of time? Some European and North American schools select candidates that way and I also went through that process to enter vocational school. I have to say that I absolutely dreaded the assessment period (which was 1 month long in my case) and found it extremely stressful while I loved one-day auditions but it does give the school a much better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of a student. They get to see the good days and the bad days and how the student responds to their training. Practically though, you wouldn't be able to apply to too many schools which employed this process of selection.

Schools don't tend to let people know why they weren't accepted. I don't think a school would invite someone to the final audition if they found their physique unsuitable for classical training or a career but if this girl really was rejected on physique at the final then maybe the school were considering both her and another girl for the last available place but went with the other girl because they preferred her physique. I have heard audition panellists say that they have held final auditions where all the dancers were suitable but it just came down to preference on the day. Another factor which has not been mentioned yet is the interview. Sometimes, this can be what sways the panel about one student over another. The personality, drive and determination of a student are important too and can be the difference between accepting one student over the other. Speaking of which, it's well documented that at least in the past and maybe also now, some of the schools in the former Soviet Union were not necessarily looking for desire to dance in the candidates for entry into the first year. That is in contrast to the western schools.

I disagree. It might be that WL did not consider her suitable or it could equally be that they DID consider her suitable but they preferred someone else. I have also heard of children being accepted for WL and not for Elmhurst or other schools.

I think that it is the very fine details that differ from school to school. Obviously all schools look for a suitable physique and flexibility as well as musicality and general aptitude but all the top schools audition hundreds of hopefuls and the small handful that are selected each year are not necessarily the only candidates they saw with the potential to benefit from their training or become a professional dancer. Therefore, candidates end up being picked over others for tiny details and it can happen that someone is rejected from one top school simply because of the limited number of places available and not because they are unsuitable. To give an example, two students might be under consideration for one available place. They both have the physical attributes and aptitude required by the school. Candidate A has better feet and is more flexible while the audition panel liked performance quality of candidate B better. The school awards the place to candidate B because her feet and flexibility and feet are still wonderful and they feel she has the potential to improve further in those areas under their tutelage. A different school might have given the place to candidate A because they saw her great personality in the interview and felt that they could draw that out into her dancing.

I think it is also worth mentioning Canada's National Ballet School. I have no personal experience of the (school although I do know someone who attended on scholarship) but I know that unlike the American schools mentioned they do have a boarding house and academic provision on site. I think they accept from 10 years old but do accept into other years too. I would also like to suggest that your DD considers attending summer schools at any of the schools she is interested in. Those are often very competitive to get into too but it is definitely worth sending in an application. You can get lots of useful feedback from those courses as well as improving your technique, and if you end up not getting aplace for year 10, you will be in a position to make a stronger application for 6th form. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck!

That's less than half of the fees at the RBS so useful for the OP to know if she is concerned about fees. I'm not worked up, I was answering your post and trying to help the OP. Neither of the schools I mentioned are second, third or fourth rate by the way. It is also possible to make the grade for the RBS but not get a place because there are simply none available. This is particuarly true of years 8-10. Furthermore not all of the schools you mentioned look for the same qualities in students. It is an issue because OP specifically mentioned funding assistance in her first post and also because of your bizzare statement that just because I said funding is available doesn't make it true. If you are inferring that OP's daughter isn't talented enough to receive a scholarship, we actually know nothing about her so let's leave it up to any schools she is interested in to determine whether she meets their criteria.

It wasn't information, bad or otherwise, it was a question. There is no point in me writing a long post about European schools if the OP is considering the US for other reasons. I also note that you also mentioned European schools in your first post without elaborating on that. The OP has since clarified that she is concerned about the extremely small number of places available in the UK due to the fact that all the school that have a year 10 start offering places in year 7. Anyway, Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monaco accepts students from 13/ 14. Tuition is €6500 per year and boarding is also €6500 per year. That's cheaper than schools in the UK. Regarding academic work, students undertake correspondence courses from their country and there are tutors on site for support and guidance. FYI, I attended this school myself. Website is here http://www.balletsdemontecarlo.com/academie-princesse-grace/academie.php?id_menu=1 Another school that has not been mentioned in this thread is Accademia teatro alla scala in Milan http://www.accademialascala.it/en/. Their course starts in year 7 but they do accept into other years, providing of course that the student has reached the required level. Well, it IS true as it happens, not because I said it but because the school said it. I also personally know students at the school who are on scholarships so I know first hand that that is the situation. The OP has not indicated that her DD is not talented enough to enter one of the UK schools. Not every school is the right for for every dance and likewise, a dancer can be supremely talented but not what a specific school is looking for. I think the OP is smart for looking into other options for her daughter and I wish her the best of luck in finding a suitable school.

I'm afraid I have no information about schools in the US but I was wondering if you had considered any of the European schools. Their fees are often much less than in the UK and I'm sure there are scholarships available too.

Yes, the Btec course is extremely unlikely to offer ballet classes at a suitable level for you to enter a vocational ballet school so you'll have to maintain a pretty heavy schedule of ballet classes outside of college.

This is quite random but circa 1993 there was a documentary about Central School of Ballet featuring a number of first and third year students who were studying there. I recall that in the shots of the first year girls classes, several of the girls were wearing white sports bras under their (low backed) leotards. Obviously these were extremely visible as the back of the leotard did not cover the bra. Obviously this is 20 years ago now so I have no idea what their policy is now. The vocational school I attended did not have a uniform and the only rule was we were not allowed to wear black leotard, there was no rule on bras although I don't particularly remember anyone wearing one (not that I was paying much attention!) (What a topic for my second post here! )

Yes, it is usually possible to complete the Btec qualification at a later date carrying over the credits you have already gained. It is important to note that a Btec courses vary hugely in quality but it seems as if the one you are considering is good. Conversely, the syllabus for A-level does change and it might not be possible to complete the full A-level if you leave it too long. You would still have the AS though. You've mentioned, ballet, MT and drama schools in your first post. Are you still undecided which to go for? They are all very different!