balletla

It doesn't really matter whether they know the financial information before or after. If after the final, it becomes clear that you are not eligible for a DaDA funded place then you get told that you can come if you pay full fees and the DaDA then gets offered to the next person on the the waiting list. If you can't afford your full fee place, then the next person on the waiting list who does qualify for DaDA effectively gets prioritised over you. He/she ends up attending the school and you don't (unless by some means you can afford the full fee place). If you can't afford the full fee place, it gets offered to the next full fee paying person on the waiting list to see if they can afford it.

Yes you have hit it spot on. Yes priority will be given to students who qualify for a DaDA funded place. I know some people are reluctant to acknowledge this unsavoury fact, but it has to be the case as schools will not be able to carry unused DaDA funding into next year and the way government budgets work is "use it or lose it" It is ironic that some schools are now looking at their own internal scholarship and bursary funding to try to help out the so called 'rich' students who just cannot afford it this year, whereas in previous years all of this money would have been available to help out just the lowest earners and those from overseas. It is a shame that these internal scholarship/bursary funds are now going to have to stretch even further!

People who qualify for DaDAs (I.e. those who earn less than £70,000) will get priority for places as schools will have to use their DaDA funding or lose it. So whilst the number of DaDA places is the same, they ALL go to those under £70k. It is effectively a divided system now. All those under £70k in one group competing for DaDA places ie the majority of places, and all those over £70k in another group competing for the few non-funded places that are left. So you are less likely to get a place over the threshold as it is no longer just about talent!

Hi Olivia, Do you mean Washington Ballet in the North East near Newcastle? Or do you actually mean Washington Ballet in America? I have never heard of Washington Ballet if it is the North East one; maybe it has another name? Maybe someone from up that way could help you out. In the meantime, don't worry about the audition, just concentrate on your dancing. Your teacher will be the best person to help answer questions about your likelihood of getting into any associate scheme or other similar thing.

I also spoke to someone yesterday who said that regardless of whether they could afford to pay full fees/maintenance or not, is paying out up to £90,000 over 3 years the best use of that money for their child? What if they train for 3 years and don't end up with a job at the end of it all? They would be much more willing to take the chance if the financial outlay was a lot lower.

I'm surprised you didn't throttle her Dragonlady. I really think these schools have got their heads in the clouds. Don't they realise that in the long run, these DaDA arrangements mean that they will miss out on some of the most talented children. I know lots of people who are over the threshold for DaDA, even some that are a long way over the threshold, who are saying that they simply can't afford the outgoings. Some are going to Central, some are going to small local schools in the hope that things might be better next year and they can re-audition and others are now auditioning abroad. Some are also trying to negotiate with the schools to get additional funding but the school's own reserves are normally used for exceptional people from abroad who don't qualify for funding under EU rules. Meanwhile still no reply from David Laws. The only way anything will get done is if pressure comes from the combined force of the schools telling the government that their new funding formula is having a detrimental effect on their outcomes, which probably can't be evidenced for a few years until the graduate destinations start to deteriorate. What is even more soul-destroying is that the total spend on DaDAs has remained the same, it's just the way it is distributed that has changed, so the government isn't even saving any money with these new arrangements

Lottie have I understood you correctly? Is that 20 students auditioning for 17 scholarships? That seems like good odds! How many scholarships for girls aged 14-16 do you know? Such a shame it is on the Bank Holiday week-end as we are away as I assume a lot of people will be. Poor planning.

I also know a girl who has chosen Central over offers from all other schools (except RBS) and the simple reason for this is that her parents earn over £70,000 and simply cannot afford to pay out £24,000 for Elmhurst or £27,000 for ENBS. With Central she has access to student loans. Spax - if you read the DaDA 2013 thread, you will understand why these decisions are being made.

Oh dear how frustrating. I heard of some yes's and waiting list places last week but not any no's Really hope I am wrong but I think they probably send out yes's and waiting list places first and follow up with the no's later. ENBS did this recently as well and it is very unfair to keep the no's waiting. It strikes me that they are a bit like Tring in that they tell you that results won't be out for several weeks but then contact the ones they want almost immediately and keep everyone else hanging on for weeks. If it's any consolation, I think there is lot of movement goes on in the summer term with lots of people accepting more than one place and then turning one down or people going abroad. I remember last year a lot people getting late offers of places so don't give up, even if you are told no initially.

BGP, Darcey started ballet as a little girl; she got into White Lodge at 13 when she realised that was what she wanted to do. Before that she was at the Arts Ed school in Chiswick. Grades i.e. the actual exams are not important. What is important however is the content of what your child is doing. Part of being good at ballet is progressing with technique and the grade you are working at is often an indicator of this. I would be concerned about the training that your ballet teacher is providing if your dd is 11 and only grade 2. It doesn't matter at JAs but it will matter at MAs. The MAs in my dd's class who went to general performing arts schools where ballet wasn't particularly focused on, soon started to fall behind and many of them ended up changing schools to more serious local ballet schools.

Just to make clear this is a reply to Moneypenny about DaDAs. It has got lost in a question about MDS.

Paragraph 24 of the 'providers scheme guide' says: The income assessment for the tuition fees should normally last for the duration of the course however schools have discretion to re-assess fees at the end of an academic year (not in-year) where there has been a dramatic change of circumstances for example where the change is long term and not subject to fluctuation or where the change has occurred for the whole of the previous academic year.

If you read the guidance on the EFA website, it tells you. From memory, the DaDA award is based on the previous year's earnings and is given for 3 years. I think it is up to the schools' discretion as to whether they take significant variations in earnings into account from year to year. Seems a bit unfair either way. Someone could be assessed in the year they are out of work and then get a job again the next year. Certainly on MDS you are required to tell them of a significant change either way - I think it's 10%

The Degas leotards have high cut legs.

Also, just to update you, despite a couple of nudges/reminders, I still haven't had a reply from either David Laws or the EFA. If/when I ever get a reply I will post it on here, but I really don't expect anything to happen until this year has played out. As predicted, now that there are DaDA offers out, people are starting to realise what's involved and I know a couple who have has to turn them down already. My DD has received a couple of offers and we are still busy looking at options and other funding sources (including grandparents, sadly) and may be able to cobble something together for the first year with a view to finding a different solution after that. It is stressful though.

But it's not just about how many hours training you do. It is also about talent. Like I said earlier, I am amazed by how many non-vocational school children have been offered places at the top schools so far and virtually none of them will have been doing 20hrs a week. It is about quality more than quantity. I beginning to question the need for vocational school but perhaps this is a subject for a separate post as we are getting off topic here.

That isn't the case this year. A few more yes's have been received today.

I am surprised by how many non-vocational students have got places for 6th form and that is just the RBS/ENBS/Elmhust results I know of so far and how many vocational students seem to be struggling for places.

Also meant to say, how realistic is it that 24 children selected at the age of 10 will still be suitable for ballet training at the age of 16? I know some of them get assessed out along the way but generally the majority don't. It is the same with any other physical sport/activity. And why is everybody focussed on RBS? What about Elmhurst...how many of their students get into their upper school (or one of the top 3)? Also, how many UK students are taken into other schools? I understand that about half the students at ENBS are from abroad, but because they don't have a lower school, nobody seems to talk about it. The reality is that the schools should want to take the students they think are most likely to succeed wherever they come from. It sounds like our UK students are very well represented considering the statistics.

Whilst I have a lot of sympathy for the students who haven't got into Upper School, I do feel that anyone who is in year 11 who does not have a plan B or C is slightly foolish. Even if you thought your child was a dead cert, you can never be sure until you have the offer. I do find it hard to believe that this information comes as a complete shock; surely most students will have some idea of whether they have the required attributes - maybe they and their parents just didn't want to hear the messages, or were in denial after investing 5 years in their training? It must be a fine line for the school to tread between giving the right feedback but keeping them motivated and even White Lodge can never be 100% certain who the Upper School will take on the day.

I think CeliB has hit the nail on the head. There are actually more White Lodge students taken proportionally than statistics should suggest with regularly over half of them making it to Upper School. In my experience of seeing WL students, they are all beautifully trained with an attention to detail that is not always there in some of the other schools. The ones that make it to Upper School are the ones that seem to have that something extra that can't be taught.

No final results not out. Was basing comments on those selected for finals.

Sorry to hear about your DD Angel. I do hear rumours that the new AD is sweeping through Elmhurst with a big broom and raising standards which is only a good thing. However from what I have heard, the Elmhust offers for year 7 and 6.1 are going mostly to the same people who have offers for RBS. Naturally they are all accepting RBS, so I do wonder if there will be anyone left to go to Elm? One Birm JA offer for Elm is really low. Hope you feel better soon.

Always by letter from RBS.

I think letters were out today. I have heard of one boy (from another vocational school) getting a place but not heard of any others yet....