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4 dance have stock online of this size. https://4dance.co.uk/

DD was waitlisted - she’s happy with that as has always had a ‘no thanks’ in the past!

To the best of my knowledge, based on past auditions, about half the children at finals get either main cast or tour and the other half get a ‘no’. 
My daughter got a no from finals one year and a yes to main cast the next.

At finals the children are taught dances from the production so the panel can see who fits best into the roles they have.

22 minutes ago, HopelessMummy said:

Really surprised by this as altho they say don't wear associate uniform, all the ones I've seen in the 2019 audition who wore associate uniforms were called back... 

In the 2017 LCB final auditions my daughter danced next to a stunning JA, who is now at WL. My daughter got main cast, the JA didn’t. My DD was speechless when she realised this. We found that there was a real mix of dancing backgrounds at LCB from children who didn’t do any associates to those that attended several. I don’t think there is anyway of knowing exactly what they’re looking for and I’m guessing it changes each year with the different roles on offer.

Good luck everyone ☘️

Hello, is the Gaby medium fleece still for sale? DD is a UK dress size 6 and 5'4 – would it fit do you think? thanks

Congrats to all the yeses and SWL 🎉. I know SO many gorgeous dancers that are now at vocational school or with RBS Mids and Senior Associate places who never received a JA place - so if it was a no today - don’t give up 👍

I think some people thought we were crazy sending our very young 11-year-old off to boarding school, but it felt the right thing to do and it still does. She’s a very sociable girl who likes spending time with friends and even during the later primary school years, I could see dance lessons impacting on her downtime. We live close to lots of great schemes but travel times to associates etc still ate into the spare time she had left. I miss her so much, but knowing that she has a busy, happy life full of dance lessons and close friendships makes it all worthwhile. I think she has much

more downtime to relax and do stuff with her friends being away at school than if she were at home trying to juggle it all.

But as others have said, what works varies from child to child and also family circumstances x

Children don’t just leave because they’re assessed out - two left in my DDs year 7 group as decided it wasn’t for them. 

Yes, my DD has been accepted for the Senior Summer school 👍

I think most don’t take no’s too much to heart when they see the sheer volume of other children at auditions. I remember talking numbers with DD at her first JA audition and likened being offered a place to getting Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket!! 

4 hours ago, Flower said:

Seems like white trainers are part of the uniform. What make / type is allowed? What are the rules?

Pretty much anything goes as long as the main colour is white. My daughter has worn big chunky Filas and also Nike Airforce One. They wear them for commercial dance lessons so just need to be comfortable. 

You can buy uniform directly from the school. I *think* there’s a possibility that the uniform might be changing soon. The kids used to wear a traditional uniform (blazer/tie etc)for academics but since the pandemic started have been wearing their dance tracksuit all day to limit time in changing rooms. I would contact the school to find out if this will be carrying on/changing back for September 2021.

9 hours ago, SissonneDoublee said:

You will be amazed at how much tidier they are at school! There are daily room checks, with a tick list of what they need to do (open curtains, make bed, leave floor clear etc) and they get rewards for having a full chart of ticks.

 

Having places to put things helps DD to stay organised: a box for school books, containers for hair stuff etc. Also, a huge wash bag that is big enough to take all her shampoo, conditioner, shower gel etc so she isn’t juggling bottles on the way to the shower xx

Oh I wish DD had got tidier! She’s very organised with her dance kit/homework but keeping her room tidy is a battle! I even been called up by the head of boarding as it had got so bad! The shame 🤣

I’m really sad and sew labels on everything. So far no major losses and DD is in year 9. I sew labels into a loop first then sew to the inside top of socks so it’s easily seen and doesn’t itch. 
 

5 hours ago, rowan said:

I  actually didn’t realise that vocational schools don’t do PE. I suppose it makes sense. My DC were at a normal comprehensive and they did the full gamut of sports and games, with lots of opportunities to develop those more for those who wanted.

 

School sports can leave injuries, though. A friend of mine had her career as a professional musician curtailed very early after being whacked on the hand during hockey at school, which meant she couldn’t sustain the hours of practice needed, even years later.

Hammond now does PE once a week 👍

55 minutes ago, glowlight said:

 

 

I have found at times it is surprisingly easy to identify people that I know on  the forum - so posts aren't really anonymous. Also if you look back through previous messages you can easily see which year group someone's dc is in.

 

 

 

 

Yep agreed, but unless one actually asks that person directly if they’re a particular user - it’s only ever an educated guess. 

I thought it was a bit strange, especially as people are posting anonymously. The school has always asked parents not to discuss funding  with other parents in their child’s year, which is sensible I think. The kids know to be discreet, too.  But posting anything here is a bit different and there’s never been an issue before 🧐

27 minutes ago, Farawaydancer said:

I’ve heard nothing about this, but that’s likely to be my dd thinking that it’s not an interesting thing to mention, if she’s actually aware of it at all! 

We heard at Year 9 parents evening earlier this month. Am guessing we heard first as it’s starting for Year 10 from September 2021 so DD’s year is the first to be affected by it. They have to make their genre choice in the summer term. They’ve just chosen their GCSE options - this framework has been overhauled, too. 

9 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

Well, it certainly seems as though the school in a relatively short time has turned around really the only 2 issues that sadly were of concern to us when there....

The new boarding sounds exactly what was required & I recall a conversation where for older years, genre streaming was suggested! At year 7 so many start out with a ballet dream but by year 10 those wanting to focus in on ballet as a career were a very small minority & the timetable & then felt very much for the all rounder. No complaints at all about teaching or opportunities beyond those that have now been addressed it would appear so bravo to Hammond! 

I know we were so pleased when we heard! DD is very ballet-focused so means she’ll be in a smaller class with others who share the love. She’ll still do the other genres (tap, commercial etc) but only once a week I think. There are some kids in her year with really strong commercial/ musical theatre skills so will help them focus on their strengths, too. All good news for upper school audition prep! 

14 minutes ago, Dancemumk8 said:

Given covid restrictions we haven’t been able to visit the school or boarding houses, what are the boarding houses like? Have heard differing views!

The school moved to new boarding accommodation in September 2021, and whilst it isn’t as homely, it’s certainly more practical with all rooms having en-suite and year 10 and upwards having their own rooms. DD loves the school which has not only nurtured her love of ballet, but also helped strengthen other dance genres such as modern and tap. She also discovered she could sing! From year 10 they now have a choice of following a classical/contemporary or musical theatre/jazz route in lessons. I like the teaching staff on the whole and the headmistress and new head of boarding are very approachable and enthusiastic.

10 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

No for year 9. My poor dd now thinks she hasn't got funding and it's all gone to yr 7's!!.....quite possibly the case!! 🙈

In my DDs year ( she’s currently year 9) 10 got MDS in year 7, in year 8 another four joined with an MDS and I believe one was awarded to child starting last September in Year 9. Don’t give up hope ☘️.

1 hour ago, Mjdb said:

Hi Dancing panda could I ask if you have had all info about the funding date & times yet. We still have had no communication so I don't know if dd had been successful or not! I would have thought I would have some communication by now which ever way the outcome was. I have contacted the school but no reply. 

Have you tried calling the school? All the staff are back on site now. I’m sure if you explain the situation someone will try and help you ASAP. Must feel very frustrating!

Good luck to you all, it’s a fantastic school and my DD absolutely loves it. ☘️☘️☘️

1 hour ago, Dancemumk8 said:

Still no emails! Will they have to do academic tests on the afternoon as they suggested in some earlier emails? We’ve been offered a place so presume the offer isn’t depending on test scores 

Hammond is not academically selective so don’t worry. When my daughter had her audition a couple of years ago they did a non-verbal reasoning test on the day, then maths and English tests were sent to her primary school to do afterwards. 

13 minutes ago, Ballet Dreams said:

Money has been tight for us so I completely understand your point. But just wanted to stress that a no to JA does not open less doors for your child and that the no’s my child has received have had a real positive affect on her.   As she just wanted to succeed and worked that little bit harder to achieve her goals.  

I also think that how a child reacts to a ‘no’ is so important. After seeing my DD react so stoically after getting her first RBS no when she was 8, I realised that she had thicker skin than I’d given her credit for and that maybe we were travelling on the right path. She’s had many, many no’s along the way, but enough yeses to make it all worthwhile (she’s now at voc school) As you said -  I think in some ways the no’s were almost as valuable as the yeses for keeping her focussed and determined xx