Julsgalaxy

12 minutes ago, MissEmily said:

Where are the auditions today? Good luck everyone!

At Tring 😃

6 minutes ago, SJBallet said:

🍀 Good look to all those auditioning today, and if anyone auditioned yesterday 🍀

Thanks 😃 Just dropped DS off and now the wait till pick up 

40 minutes ago, BalletBoysDad said:

I am sure that this is just the regular NHS ones that you register online and get a text or email confirming the result. Not one of the ‘paid for’ services. My DS recently had covid and they confirmed they would also accept receipt proof of a positive test, such as the NHS Test and Trace email confirmation.

Ok thank you , I’m glad I checked as I was thinking it may just be a regular lateral flow that you do at home without needing to send it off to nhs …I had better order those then xx

For the Tring audition, it says to do a lft 24 hours beforehand…I’m wondering if this is just a regular lft or an official one like the WL one was ? 

8 hours ago, SJBallet said:

For Tring it says the following:

 

 A prepared dance solo of up to one-minute duration, in any style, from a smartphone/iPod/USB accompaniment, ready to play.
We are happy to see candidates’ own choreography for this solo

 

I did get an email from Hammond that said they were offering video auditions as an alternative but it said about ticking a firm so not sure if that is for anyone who is still doing the application rather than those that have been offered a date already. 
 

Hammond says you have to provide the cables from your phone to sound system????? Need to have a think about all of that! 

Ah thanks, I skim read that part 🙈

DS is wanting to go out for lunch tomorrow in Brighton and I suddenly thought but what if he catches covid ….it just seems everywhere at the moment and I suppose once they go back to school, there’s the very real chance they would catch it 🙈

I wonder what would happen if they couldn’t make the auditions because they were ill ? 

31 minutes ago, balletboy8 said:

DS doesn't have anyone who can choreograph a routine so is making one up, I can't even download/buy the exact version of the song he wants so having to remote record and then download onto USB - all very painful.

 

Does anyone know more about the academic assessment?

 

Thanks 😄

Oh we are the same ….DS has a dance that he’s never practiced and it’s a well known song that I’m somehow going to have to cut 🤷‍♀️
no idea re academic assessment.

On 27/12/2021 at 05:40, balletboy8 said:

Trying not to think about it, Tring have sent email saying plans are remaining the same for now - DS audition is on the 7th of Jan 🤞

My son is on the 7th too 😃

Lets hope that nothing changes next week and auditions can go ahead 🤞

Those of you doing the Tring audition….what are you doing about music for their solo ? I don’t think they’ve said how to bring it eg disc , usb etc ? 

1 minute ago, Ottobotto said:

My son is also going to the WL finals in March. I asked his teacher and she seemed to think it was 10th and 11th and the info definitely says you need to be available for both days. She said they do physio checks  on all students so some would have those on the first day and then they would swap over and some would have them on the second day. I guess it depends on how many are there, but if it's 30+ then they would need 2 days to do them all I suppose  .  So I'm planning for 2 days of roaming rather than just one 🙂!

Ahhh that makes sense 😃 It will be a nice excuse to do lots of exploring xx

Oh I hadn’t realised that WL final was spread over 2 days….we got the email this morning for DS and I just thought the 2 dates meant it would be with the 10th or 11th 🙈

1 hour ago, Dancermom said:

Well done to everyone! does anyone know when the last round of preliminary auditions are? X

I think it’s on Sunday in London as my DS has his on Sunday xx

30 minutes ago, Dancermom said:

Elmhurst applications havnt closed yet so I would imagine you will hear after that, good luck x 

Ah that makes sense thanks, I didn’t realise they hadn’t closed yet xx 

Good luck to everyone applying…I really can’t believe we are already at the auditions stage.

DS has his WL/MA audition next Sunday, it’s the London audition…are there any other boys attending?

Has anyone else whose applied to Elmhurst heard from them yet when their prelim audition is…I’m worrying maybe our application didn’t go through (even though I got email confirmation lol…I know I’m being silly) as it seems really late to not have heard from them yet ? 

13 minutes ago, cotes du rhone ! said:

I think it’s really hard for parents of a 10/11 year old to make the decision as to whether vocational boarding school is right for them. 
If you had asked me in 2012 when my daughter was in year 7 we would have given similar reviews to the posters above. Year 8 would have been good too. I remember the houseparent on that first drop off saying that it was going to be a sleep over with rules. And it was fun in the beginning. The girls made friends and we believed they were well cared for. There seemed to be no bullying, nastiness or issues with body image or food. 
I notice how there aren’t many posters of experience of the later years of lower school 🤔 The 9/10 and 11. The years when the serious business of ballet steps in and the assessments/assessing out/competitiveness kicks in. When the dynamics in the ballet class change as new children start and others depart. We were silent in these years. Quietly dealing with issues, smiling outwardly but inwardly crying 😢 I know I sound dramatic and full of bitterness but my daughter was successful if social media was to be believed. It’s hard to tell the truth. Fear of reprisals from the school and the ballet teacher if you go outside to seek help and talk about your experience. How can you as a parent persuade your daughter to increase her BMI above 16 when she gets so much praise and rewards for being like that. I say 16 because that is the schools cut off point for being taken off dance and being made to sit and watch the class instead. It’s cruel and damaging and does not help recovery. Specialist help outside the school was needed and she didn’t get it and we weren’t brave enough to take her out. She would have hated us. She loved ballet. It wasn’t just us that struggled. At some point they all did. Sort of like a silent epidemic. As one poster pointed out, there are very few lower school ballet boarding schools around the world. The majority start at 16. 11 is young.  
I don’t envy today’s parents making that decision. It’s tough. I just regret ours and wish I had been given a balanced view of others experiences before we said yes. 

You’re right , 11 is sooooo young and there’s a huge difference between 11 and 16.

do you mind me asking which school your DC attended ? I’m so sorry she struggled so , I am an ex dancer myself and absolutely know the perils of body issues that often arises amongst girl dancers xx 

1 hour ago, Busymum said:

I have had 2 very different DC at Tring and both have been very happy and very supported. My DS is still there and I had the same issues as you @JulsgalaxyWe had no training close to home and as a boy dancer he wasn't happy at primary school. I feel the local high school would have been torturous for him. He is now Year 10 and en route to Milton Keynes to watch the new James Bond film with his friends. 

My DD was not classical orientated but Tring was the best school for her to have that high level of training. Even though she would never be top for ballet she was always treated as well as the purely classical dancers and the school supported her as an individual. I felt there was care and worry for her as an individual and academic successes are as highly regarded as any vocational regardless of what vocational course the children are on. I find it brilliant that they have so many differently talented children all working for their own loves. Having children on the musical theatre course as friends in your dorm helps it not be all encompassing about ballet 24/7.

My DS has been so happy at school and I was so worried about him boarding as he is a home boy and I worried so much that he would be homesick and have lost all his pants by the end of the first week. He has been supported as necessary and has coped really well. His training is brilliant and I feel injuries etc are managed well. They have different coloured cards for when they go back to dance to show each teacher so their teacher is aware what they can and can't do and also reminds them during class to be careful and adapt or sit out of exercises if necessary. When he had physio the physio rang me to discuss and I felt fully informed. 

The first few weeks of term when they all go back in September they are all expected to stay at school for the weekends until exeat, usually 2 weekends. This is to help them settle at school and build friendships. After that they are allowed home at weekends if they want to but most don't as they enjoy their weekend off at school. From year 8 onwards they have exam dance classes on a Saturday and can go home after that but they like going to Tesco with their friends or their organised trip on a Sunday. We are billed for them but they generally are only £7 or £8 pounds or so until the last one of term and that might be £20. They always enjoy Christmas shopping in Milton Keynes. Houseparents go with them and supervise the young ones, they also go to panto at Christmas and older ones to a show in the last week of autumn term. Sports day in the summer (throw the pointe shoe!) and teachers compete too. They have a football goal and swings on back lawn and a football match in summer too. Plenty of fun and a much more (normal) life for not normal school days!

MDS cover £825 of dance clothing/shoes, AXA medical insurance and private music lessons. Also unlimited amount for exams.

If you are on lower incomes then there is also an allowance for academic uniform and travel.

They have counsellors to speak to of any issues that aren't resolved by talking to houseparents, teachers etc and are encouraged to talk through any problems. Can't think of anything else but if you have any questions please pm me. 

Oh it’s sooooo good to hear such a positive experience, you sound like both your DC’s have been so happy at Tring which is wonderful xx

51 minutes ago, Whiteduvet said:

The problem is that these schools don’t really need to “sell” themselves. They know that most parents will accept a place with glee so there’s no need to give a proper introduction and answers questions. 
 

parents are also scared to ask hard questions. Are you going to ask WL whether it’ll take proper care of your child without being scared it’ll bias them against her/him??? Parents are in a weak position and from my experience have such stars in their eyes they just accept prestige at face value.
 

That’s very true xx 

38 minutes ago, SJBallet said:

Hi @Julsgalaxyhow did you find out that JAs would go see WL? My DD is a JA and this isn’t something I’ve heard about. If parents don’t go how do they get there? Or are we supposed to just drop them off?

 

I agree about Tring being so far, the open day is only a couple of hours and for us a 4 hour drive each way plus a hotel stay. We’ve booked to go but I’m in two minds as wouldn’t we get to visit anyway if she got an invite to finals? And we we don’t get that far we don’t need to see it anyway????

 

We are however going to the Elmhurst experience day next weekend which although expensive, at least DD gets a class. But in hindsight I’d have applied the same logic as I’m considering for Elmhurst if I hadn’t already booked and paid for it all. 

There was a JA yr6 zoom call on Monday about the audition process and they mentioned then that the yr6 JA’s get a visit to WL in November I think it is …I’m not sure how they get there but I’m sure we will hear more. 

10 hours ago, valentina said:

From our own personal experience some  questions that might be helpful would be,

 

How will the school know how ill my child is ill?  Minimal, carrying on as usual with some medication, Medial, needing a day off to rest and recuperate, or Max, needing to be in sick bay with care and attention or possibly being collected from school? 
Who will inform me? How? When? Will they keep up communication? No one knows your child better than you, and as you won’t be there, how easy will it be for your child to ask for the help they need? Is that person warm and approachable? Accessible? Even in the middle of the night? Lots of dorms have complex security in place and it’s not always  easy to get help quickly.

How will my child’s injuries be assessed? Will I get to speak to the physio? If my child is off class, what will they be doing instead? How will the psychological fallout of being off classes be handled? Will the school know if my child is becoming depressed because they can’t dance? How will the remedial stage be handled? Can we get a second opinion outside of school? Can my child get sports massage?

We have never been given the report of an MRI scan my child had in June, other than to say, there are some issues but nothing serious.

 

How easily will it be to speak to the school/ teachers IN PERSON? Not only when there is an issue but just to be reassured? A chat? Will they accommodate me at times when I can travel? Combine it with picking up my child?

Will they be open to complaints? Constructive criticism? 

 

What does the school provide to take the students mentally away from dance?  Change of scene? Activities? Weekend?  One of the biggest issues of full time training is that it is all embodying. The students become more and more obsessive and every waking moment is about dance. If they are not doing it, they are talking about it, watching it, doing exercises in the studios till very late at night. It’s unhealthy in every aspect. Judging yourself, judging others and boredom that leads to nastiness. Not to speak of the mental strain and pressure. So important to have a means to escape from this.

How are the dormitories organised? Do they change people every term? How do they choose who to be with? What happens if one child is left out? What happens if my child is unhappy and very sad? Who can they express this to? Schools tend to gloss over homesickness, working on the principle that it will disappear soon enough. I can’t stress enough that these emotions need to be acknowledged and appropriate time spent airing these very distressing feelings.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for this , these are excellent questions and some I hadn’t thought of ….how do we find this all out though ? Who do we ask these questions to ? 
I know with JA’s my DC will have a day where they go view WL but I’m not even sure if there’s an open day for parents (I actually haven’t looked on their website) , I know there is one for Tring but it is a long way to go travelling wise for an open day (I was so hoping they would all do them virtually for those that live far away ) ….so I’m just wondering how it’s best to find all this info out ? 
I feel like a lot of us (probably?) would be considering certain schools and even accepting places offered without actually knowing these types of details and just expecting the schools to be good due to their prestigious names .

Thank you so much for all your input and PM’s . I’m so sorry for all the bad experiences and it’s good to hear of some of the good.

this is all so very helpful and you’ve brought up things I haven’t even thought of but it’s also making me extremely hesitant to enter into this journey.

I do so wish we could do day pupil as I truly believe that would be for the best and I really, really don’t want my DC to go away to boarding school but we simply live too far for a daily commute.

I would also consider not doing boarding at all and going to “regular” school till 16 and then contemplating upper schools but my DC is a boy and I suspect being a boy teenager at regular school, he may not want to continue dance at all with all the pressures of being a boy dancer socially amongst teenagers.

Im feeling so unsure about this all …the thought of as you say “the school becoming the parents” is a heartbreaking one for me but it’s also hard to just decide not to enter on this journey with a talented dancing loving child.

I fear if we get swept up in the auditions and subsequent (hopeful)potential  offers of a place somewhere, it’s going to be very hard to turn down….this all feels like life changing decisions not only physically and logistically but also potentially the future mental state of my child and not knowing how that would all go , it’s hard to make that decision.

sorry for my rambling but it’s just been great to hear some actual experiences of parents and children who have gone through all this before embarking on this journey.

For us logistically, it would only really be WL (and the chances of getting in are slim) or Tring so any more experiences of those 2 schools are very welcomed.

 Thanks so much. 

Thank you so much for all your replies, it’s very much appreciated.

this is just such a hard decision to make , it feels life changing and without actually knowing “what it would really be like” it feels an even harder decision.

11 really is still so young to go to boarding school I feel and it’s not something I would ever have chosen if it wasn’t for the love of dance so as a parent, it’s my DC welfare I suppose that I worry about the most so it’s just good to know of some experiences wherever good or bad to have an idea of the kind of things to expect or look out for going into this whole process.

I feel it’s very easy to be swept along in the process of auditions and be enticed by the popular prestigious schools without actually knowing what it would really be like to go there , day to day experiences etc . 

6 hours ago, Whiteduvet said:

I would stress that you need to look behind the websites and the social media posts and the general pedestal these schools are put on. In my experience few year 6 parents seem to ask (for whatever reason) the important questions: how is my child cared for emotionally? How much will I know about what’s happening to/with my child and how they are progressing? What are the odds of success (destinations at age 16 do not necessarily reflect the destinations of year 7 joiners: the members of two groups are often very different)? Are children encouraged to develop in areas outside of ballet (this for me is crucial)? Etc etc. 
 

Don’t be intimated: ask questions just like you would any other school. My DD is away now at vocational school and my sadness at her not being here is helped by how I know as far as I believe I reasonably can (since every school, vocational or not, carries risks!) she is being well cared for in every aspect. I did so so much research (people on this forum kindly pm-Ed me their experiences amongst things): all I can suggest is that you do the same. Don’t go down this route because everyone else is and/or the school is one of the well known ones.  

This is very good advice, thank you xx

8 hours ago, cotes du rhone ! said:

My daughter attended vocational ballet school from 11 to 19. We are not from a dancing background and were very naive about the whole thing. At 10 she very quickly went from one/two local ballet classes a week to JAs and then full time boarding. If we knew then what we know now we wouldn’t have accepted that offer and got on that rollercoaster. We didn’t do our homework and regret that decision. Our Facebook and Instagram posts and photos of amazing opportunities and exciting successes hide the reality of our day to day experience. Although today she is a beautiful, confident, resilient and able young woman there are physical and mental scars that will live with her for a long time to come. In our experience she is not a minority. As a previous poster rightly said, people are less willing or able to share their less favourable experiences. We are happy too and to help others make the right decision for their children. 
We also have a son who went to the same vocational school at 17. Did the same local classes then associates and SAs. Personally I feel that not going at 11 as his sister did was better. He was less affected and didn’t have his love of ballet sucked out of him in the three years he was there. Although that first year was awful 😢. He is now a professional ballet dancer in a National company and is loving it 😊 I personally feel that we should have kept our daughter at home and accessed associate classes, private coaching and intensives. Nurturing her love of ballet and building up her self esteem and confidence not having it chipped away at 😔 

I think the key is to ask the right questions, listen to the answers and go with your gut feelings. Don’t get overwhelmed with the prestigiousness. Choose what feels right for your daughter and your family x

Thanks so much for replying…that’s wonderful your son is dancing professionally now. Do you mind me asking what you feel was the cause of the mental scars….was it the hard training or the environment? I can totally imagine that it’s damaging in ways and that must be hard to deal with xx 

1 hour ago, Raquelle said:

Aw she is...moments of home sickness bit generally loving it...feel free to pm me further down the process if you have any questions...Good luck with everything x 

Thanks so much , I will do ...you must be so pleased that shes enjoying it xx

3 hours ago, Raquelle said:

Hello. My daughter is a year 7 newbie in Elmhurst. Such a good idea to ask for different perspectives..... It's probably a bit early to tell for us but so far our experiences have been very positive. At this point last year we weren't even sure whether to apply and she had only just started associates...in the end we applied just to keep options open and it was only during auditions when my dd saw the school that she decided she wanted to go. Even when we got results it took a good few weeks of mulling it all through before we made the hard decision to let her go...its not easy and we all miss her terribly but she seems happy and I can't believe all the experiences she has had already in just a few weeks! X  

Oh that’s lovely that she’s happy so far xx

7 minutes ago, Crazylifecrazykids said:

We did the 4 schools audition process last year a very different experience due to covid. DC is now newly into vocational school. My advice would be to do as much research as possible and enjoy each audition and see it as a fun day out. It's a big decision for a family to make so take it a step at a time. Good luck to your DC  xx

Thanks so much . Is your DC happy so far , I know they will have only just started xx

3 minutes ago, Farawaydancer said:

I’m sure you’ll get lots of advice. I have two dc at different vocational schools, and their experiences have been as different from each other as they have been similar, and also different again from their friends. There is no one particular experience, even within the same class, so much of it is down to your child’s personality. So listen to everyone, and have your questions answered, but their experiences will not be that of your child. 
 

Enjoy the auditions, it’s a lot of fun if you approach it with a ‘let’s see what happens’ attitude. 

Thanks so much for replying. It’s a very daunting prospect to even consider sending DC “away” for schooling xx