Harwel

This was the point I was about to make too.

What a beautiful tribute Sim. So sorry for the loss of your dear friend.

I think it’s difficult to discuss anything much on a public forum as things get misconstrued and hidden meanings imagined where none exist. And also certain rules need to be observed. I thought it a great shame that 2 highly informative threads where removed due to complaints by the schools themselves over the last 2 years/18 months. Again very important issues about the safety of our young dance students. This is not a comment about the forum rules but the fact the schools themselves wanted the threads stopped. Says masses about the schools concerned in my opinion.

She was fabulous and my DC was very sad indeed when she left.

I am so sad to hear this. I do hope your dc will recover fully from their experience.

As Always Anna, a very well thought out and put together reply and I do agree with you. I was in my own way, trying to bring a bit of balance. Anyway, apparently no new director of dance will be sought at this time - I believe until the sabbatical period has ended. The director role will be covered by the current senior dance team.

We were made aware of the report when it came out and that measures were being taken to address it immediately. I don’t and never have felt the school is unsafe and yet from some of the comments I’m reading it is being made out to be a totally innapropriate place to be. In many respects it is a really lovely school. I hear many things about most of the schools with students and parents having wildly different experiences from the same schools. A report is not the whole story. I have never had problems raising concerns and having them addressed. That is my personal experience and I really am not making light of other people’s obviously serious issues. I can only speak to my own experience - has it all been rosy in the garden? No absolutely not, but our experiences are what I would call normal everyday vocational/boarding school issues.

Agreed. I try to give support and help where I can in as unbiased a way as possible. I am concerned that some comments on this thread seem to be a bit of a Witch hunt - fully understand feelings running high when people have been hurt. However. I am also aware of forum members who may have children at Tring at present who are relatively new to the school and are feeling terrified as to what sort of environment they have placed their children into. The report is a concern, it is being addressed and I dont think it needs overstating.

I was referring to the issue of the report not each individual concern in it.

Regulators have been in last week interviewing pupils. Whatever was wrong is being taken very seriously and as I understand it the school is addressing the issue as quickly as possible.

RR is at school and been busy with auditions this term. I believe she is present until Easter.

Yes

Yes, of course that’s just the way it’s been done at Tring up to this point. No requirement for it to stay that way. They had a fantastic head of dance in position after Terry Wright left, would really have transformed the ballet at Tring, particularly for the upper school. Unfortunately, there was trouble with the appointment (I suspect I know where the trouble lay but supposition only) and they lost an amazing teacher who would have been perfect to take over the director role. I also was under the impression RR was a physiotherapist. I know she trained at Hammond but no idea up to what level, but know she did not dance professionally. I think all the preparation for life after school comes from Mr Dowson, Miss McIlroy and Miss Samii. Not to mention all the choreographers they bring in for workshops and Encore - all very highly experienced.

As I understand it, the director of dance at Tring teaches very infrequently. I think she teaches some junior school ballet but apart from that her role is highly administrative (and goodness knows what else). I totally agree that Desi is a fantastic teacher and very well liked by the students. Her talents may not lie with administration and her considerable teaching skills would be lost to the students.

I absolutely agree that emotional abuse is completely unacceptable. My experience of the dance world is not great - on a personal level and through the eyes of my DC. I personally wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, regardless of the safeguarding issues put in place. As for Tring, I really don’t know where the failings lay regarding the Ofsted report. And I don’t think anyone should imply it lays with a certain person or not. I have heard plenty of questionable things but do not have personal knowledge and am not privy to the exact details.

Everyone’s perspective on who is lovely and who is not will be very subjective. What I want to know is; are they fair and effective, and I will not comment on individuals. There are plenty of instances where I have been unhappy with certain situations at Tring, sometimes they have been serious enough for me to approach the school other times I have had to let my DC get on with it and come to terms with the reality of the dance world. The dance world is not PC. There are plenty of lovely people at Tring, be they academic teachers, vocational teachers, pastoral care staff, house staff. There are also people who are not lovely, people who have bad days and difficult personal circumstances, people who make mistakes. I would say that is a fair reflection of everyday life in most group environments. Some students at Tring will have had a tough time. Sometimes because they have a personality clash with another person, be that student or staff member. Some will be told things they do not want to hear, or be excluded from certain opportunities for a variety of reasons. This happens in EVERY vocational school. I personally wish Miss Rist a happy retirement and good health. I am sure the vocational staff already in place will do a fine job of plugging the gaps (as they have since Terry Wright left). The senior vocational staff situation has been in flux for the last 2/3 years and I hope they can appoint the right person to move the school forward.

Parents of pupils were only informed yesterday. Big change after being director of dance for 30 years.

In my view, best chance of getting into RBS at 16 is to get full time training. Not sure but I believe only one girl has received a place at upper school who was non vocational in the last few years. Boys do better at vocational school. We all miss our children when they go away to vocational school, it’s a sacrifice we make to help them follow their dreams. I imagine that as your son has places now, you are not looking for funding as the funding auditions have not been yet (unless he is so exceptional he was not required to do the funding audition). That being the case I would try to find a very highly regarded, independent assessor to give a true opinion on your sons suitability to perhaps stand a chance of RBS upper school (hard to say as bodies change as do desires and understanding of the realities of life as a dancer). RBS upper school do not pick raw talent. They pick virtually fully trained dancers who just need polish, style, more strength and artistry.

Also check out Moorland.

Should that not revert back to normal for the 2019 starters? Thought the 3 years were up. Not that I have checked the funding page recently.

Lower school funding for RBS, Elmhurst, Tring and The Hammond is vis MDS scheme which is means tested. For upper school the funding changes a bit. RBS still MDS, Elmhurst DaDa, Tring DaDa but occasionally MDS, The Hammond DaDa. All means tested but DaDa does not include accommodation.

I will forever love Brenda Last. She was my teacher for a week of classes at the RAD when I was a very tall gangly and self conscious teenager (over 35 years ago now). She went around the room asking our names and getting to know us a little . By this time it had become apparent to me that dance teachers put tall dancers at the back - just because - and they rarely revolved lines. They seemed to have no clue to the damage this did to youngsters confidence or the immediate boost it gave the small dancers. But not Brenda Last - she made me feel just as important and valued in that class and she made the small dancers prove their worth. A truly fantastic lady and fabulous teacher. Height to her was irrelevant, just the quality of the dancer - as it should be to everyone.

The list of successful classical dancers who have come through Tring is rather long. They have great success in all genres. A very well rounded training, good academics and a lovely place to train for the right student.

Blimey, even less true boarding schools than I thought!

Elmhurst, Tring, Ballet West, Moorland, (Royal, Royal conservatoire of Scotland - while not on site very close and all students are in the same place I believe).