Danceintherain

The Dancer's Room in Lichfield supply all of The Hammond's uniform so should be able to help you if you're keen to get a headstart.

Sorry to hear so many of you are having an agonising wait. In these unprecedented times, it all makes it so much harder. Sadly, Hammond have never had many MDSs so the majority of children who attend won't have one. It's harsh, but sadly the reality. Hammond do (or used to - I'm not privy to current provisions) have generous bursaries, but times do change, and the lockdown will be having a huge impact on everyone. This isn't because they are uncaring - far from it. In my experience, Hammond is a fantastic school and look after their students very well. This is an expensive route for anyone (MDS or not), but it isn't the only route. If it doesn't happen this year, for whatever reason, it is not the end of the road. DC can still do incredibly well with local and associate training, and their time will come. My DD didn't start vocational school until Y10, and even then we were comfortable that she may need to wait until upper school age. We're all in this for the long run, and there are many more opportunities to come. In the meantime, I hope you have some information soon so you can all make some decisions. I don't believe a lack of communication on where DC are on reserve lists are specific to Hammond though, other schools are not sharing this information either (lower and upper schools), and whilst all schools are having to build a new way of providing learning to existing students, some processes for the new intake will be delayed. Again, not because they don't care, but because they first and foremost have a duty to provide education to their current students. And I have to say that Hammond are doing a fantastic job with this. If you are fortunate enough to have a child start there in September, they will very much be looked after, and I cannot recommend the school enough. Waiting is horrendous, and I do understand, but this isn't the end for anybody's DC, and I speak from our own personal experiences. Take care all. x

Call the Finance department on Monday. As soon as MDSs are announced you can ring and discuss what bursaries they can offer you. The school closed yesterday, but I would imagine they will be in on Monday as there's so much for them to sort out this time of year. Good luck.

Can anyone help advise where I can find accurate graduate destinations for the last couple of years? With a few funding auditions secured, we're wanting to dig that bit further should we end up with a choice. We all know that graduate success is the thing to look out for, but I'm finding it very tricky to find the information for some schools, with some highlighting alumni who are deemed 'celebrities', who may have graduated some 5-10 years ago! Any help on where/how I can find more information on students from the last couple of years would be appreciated. Thank you.

My DD started vocational school at year 10. There were 3 in total who were new into year 10 that year. Funding really depends on the school, many get the help, and for many there are alternative generous bursaries available.

Thank you. I think you’ll be fine, I don’t think they’d cancel. I’ve emailed all email addresses so hopefully we can reschedule. Good luck for tomorrow. x

Thank you. x

My DD has now come down with a fever 🙈 Even if the weather is nice, I don’t think we’ll be making it, she’s not well at all. Will email Central and ask for another date. Take care on the roads everyone.

My DD is supposed to be travelling to Central for audition tomorrow. I’m really not sure if going is the right thing to do. Staying safe is surely more important. Does anyone know what the chances are of Central rescheduling auditions under these circumstances? I surely can’t be the only person not wanting to risk it.

Yay, congratulations! Same for my DD. On to the next stage.... x

Yes, sixth form. Hopefully you'll have your's tomorrow then. It probably takes a while to process them all.

Results have arrived! Good luck. x

No. The last audition date was yesterday, so I'm guessing they'll be making their decisions this week.

Potentially Tring and Rambert also.... I'm trying to ignore that headache until it becomes one (IF it becomes one). If it does, then I guess DD would need to make some hard decisions and hopefully will have a good idea of preferred schools following preliminary auditions. It must be hard if you're in that position though - imagine you choose one final, don't get offered the place, and then wish you went to the other, eek!! It's a shame they don't co-ordinate more. And maybe (wishful thinking now) it will get noticed and changed, and hopefully to a date that doesn't clash with another school.

You're welcome. I was also very relieved when I found this out and, for us, it may be the better option than upper schools with Dadas. We will just need to go through the process and hope for the best!