Meglorien

2 hours ago, Farawaydancer said:

 

There’s Moorlands too. What aren’t you sure about at Hammond?  If you need MDS funding then it should be considered alongside the other three schools which have mds too. 

I was told this weekend that there was some sort of closure, and that they focus more on contemporary than in classical ballet. I'll read through the thread to see what people say about the various school before asking more questions 😉

On 28/05/2019 at 18:38, Sally-Anne said:

This is a really long thread so apologies for not reading all 40 pages! But, apart from RBS which other schools offer full time dance training from year 7? My daughter is at the end of year 5 and is currently working on something with studio Wayne McGregor. They have suggested she could go full time at 11, but I’m a bit lost as to the options, as RBS seems a long shot at best!

I'm interested in this too. We know about RBS, Elmhurst, Tring and Legate (if the new dance director is more ballet oriented than the outgoing one). I'm not quite sure what is happening at Hammond at the moment and we decided against Young Dancers Academy. Are there any others we should be thinking of?

9 hours ago, Vonrothbart said:

My GDD like a lot of other DC, would almost certainly have had to miss lessons on many occasions, but in our case she was always given "time out" and was often told how proud the school were on her achievements. If she did happen to miss anything she considered important, she would do a little extra, usually on the train.I'm not too sure what the situation would have been to miss a full day every week though, as that's quite a lot.

Yes, this is my fear as well, that they might think it is quite a lot.

3 hours ago, allnewtome said:

Hi, yes I have recently spoken to my DD school and they have given her permission to have one pm a week off school for lessons. 

Did you just bring in a letter from the teacher?

14 minutes ago, ParentTaxi said:

If you are considering whether they can use Code B (Educated Off Site) - a 'present' code not an 'absent' one, which obcviously the school woruld prefer - look at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/564599/school_attendance.pdf

 

Note that there are quite stringent conditions for code B, including that the child must be supervised by someone authorised by the school and that measures have been taken to safeguard pupils (the school remains in charge of your child's safeguarding for a session for which code B is recorded - that cannot be delegated to you or to the dance teacher)

 

Thanks for the link. I was wondering what the legal standing was and didn't know how to find it.

18 minutes ago, ParentTaxi said:

I think it will depend on the school's current 'average' attendance, Ofsted rating (and nearness of next inspection), and your child's general academic ability / likely SATs grade if in Y6.

 

Political and economic pressures on a school are HUGE, especially in these cash-strapped times. That means that if a school falls down the 'league tables' or drops an Ofsted grade (either through drop in performance or through low attendance, which has a high profile in inspections) it can result in the end of the head's career, and the school plunging into debt if some parents withdraw their children or don't send them because 'it's now Good not Outstanding' or, worse, 'It Requires Improvement!!!!'

 

So the freedom of manouevre on granting absence will depend - if it is an outstanding school with attendance on average in the high 90%s, and your child is securely performing at the 'right' SATs grade, then the head has much more freedom than if it is a good or RI school expecting Ofsted any moment, with attendance struggling in the low 90s and where your child MIGHT just get over the next critical SATs borderline with continuous hard work between September and May.

 

That doesn't make either head unsympathetic to your request - just that the factors in play often run counter to individual sympathies.

Thanks for this explanation. Like you say, it won't make the head sympathetic/inclined, but here we are in a strong position on all accounts, as dd has a good record of attendance (and so does the school in general), school is outstanding and dd has exceeded expectations in all her years at school. All things that will help. Also, Mary Goodhew is one of the best private teachers out there, they can even google her and find her, which I think will also strengthen our position. I plan to approach the matter in the best way possible too, which is why I wanted to discuss it on the forum first. It's a huge opportunity for dd.

5 minutes ago, Dancing unicorn said:

Is she starting JA’s in Manchester in September? 

No, she's starting private lessons with Mary Goodhew as a preparation for vocational school auditions. But the classes are in London, so she'll have to miss some or all of one day of school. I'm exploring what is the best way to go about it. This is in addition to syllabus classes and associates, which happen at the weekend. The classes are private, but with a small group of people, which makes them cost about a fifth, so we can't rearrange them and schedule them to another time.

1 minute ago, Dancing unicorn said:

It’s classed as educational, so theoretically  they can’t say no. We took the offer letter in to the headmistress. They said that as long as she was there for registration (morning and afternoon) that she would still get her attendance mark but at the end of yr6 her attendance was down. Despite the fact that she was never off I’ll!! 

Hmm, being there for both ends might prove difficult, but thanks, this helps. I'll ask for the letter before going to school.

3 minutes ago, DancingShoes said:

My dd was on Northern Ballet's CAT scheme, there were quite a few who had to miss the last lesson of the day a few times a week in order to get there on time.

How did you talk to the school?

4 minutes ago, Dancing unicorn said:

When dd was a RBS JA student she had classes on a Friday during the school day, yrs 4 & 5 were afternoon and yr6 was morning! Whilst School said she could go, I don’t think they were entirely happy with her going! But they couldn’t really say no! 

Why couldn't they say no? Can you do it legally? How did you approach the question with the school? I have to talk to them, but I'd like to do it in the best way possible.

I've searched the forum because I saw someone commenting they had managed special permission from school to have a class during school session, but now I can't find it anywhere. Anybody has experience of having to take their children to ballet class during term time on a regular basis? Is it even possible? Thanks!

It's SWL for us again this year. Good luck to all of those still waiting.

11 minutes ago, ExpatB said:

Are the London girls results coming out then!?

😱

Yes 😉

8 minutes ago, Bbc14t said:

OMG he got in!!! I am thrilled and cannot wait to tell him. 🙌🤗

 

Good luck to all of you waiting x

So happy for him! Congratulations. All the best.

10 minutes ago, DanceMum83 said:

I think pattern same as last year! Here was nothing Friday and then nothing Monday boys came out Tuesday (possibly year 6) and my DD email came on the Wednesday for year 4 place and she auditioned last day. My email came around 5pm but they had started earlier in the day cos someone I knew got theirs at 2pm and I was still waiting

I didn't notice the pattern last year. We auditioned second day this year, but last day last year, for a Y4 place and, like you, we got the email at 4:15 on 21st. So we may have to wait for Wednesday again.

2 hours ago, Bbc14t said:

Nothing yet 😫

 It's looking like no results today, isn't it? I mean, we're expecting a no, but it's still rather nerve wrecking, especially because we have an extremely good offer on the table for a different associates programme and I can't really postpone answering them any longer.

1 minute ago, Bbc14t said:

Yes Wednesday was 2nd day in London - on tenderhooks today! 

Yes, me too! Good luck to us all.

We auditioned on Wednesday (for a Y5 place), is that the second day or the 3rd? Because I know people auditioned on Friday as well.

1 minute ago, PetitJeté said:

 

Possibly a silly question, but is the email likely to come into our inbox or junk? I guess it may depend on your settings? 

I've checked junk once a day, just in case, but I would imagine it would come where the audition email came. I got it into my inbox, so I expect it will be in my inbox. Unfortunately it looks like only next week, though. I have to try and not think about it over the weekend.

1 hour ago, Bbc14t said:

Boy Tuesday audition- he is very confident but I worry as he has just turned 8 and is so little. I have told him how unlikely it is and his response was “well they have to pick someone and you never know it might just be me! But if it’s not I will go again next year”. 

 

I am a bag of nerves resulted in a couple of glasses of red tonight 😂

 

goid luck to your little girl x

I love it. Just the right attitude! I do hope he gets a yes. We also auditioned in London, on the Wednesday, for Y5.

22 minutes ago, ExpatB said:

 

If you read back, there are a lot of posts about this. In conclusion: it’s a reason to be hopeful! 

Congratulatuons! 🎉

 

For everyone else: if Birmingham results are still coming in, the Londoners should get out to the sun and forget about this for a while. 

Argh, noooooo! (But your way of putting it made me smile 😉 )

40 minutes ago, DanceMum83 said:

My DD currently in a mixed year4/5 group in London. And they do 2 and 1/4 hours. I think it’s mainly ballet and they were asked this year to not bring character shoes as they wouldn’t be needed, although they do use character skirts and do partner work with the boys. 

Thanks for this. We've applied to two other associate schemes (not the ones I mentioned, she already does those), so I was wondering how they all compare with each other. Partner work sounds great!

14 minutes ago, BalletShoes5 said:

Thank you. Much appreciated. She starts at Elmhurst in September. I agree with the 'what went wrong' is probably wrong way to look at it. I think we have started thinking like that because her dance teachers were so confident in her and chance of getting in that we had gone with their thoughts on it all  but like you say she wasn't right on that particular day.

 

xx

I sympathise with this feeling. When we have high exceptions of getting accepted, it is harder to accept a not yet. As other people have posted, there are lots of ways of getting the same result. The Royal Ballet Associates isn't the only way, and with so many dancers applying for just a few spots, there will be literally hundreds of brilliant dancers whose teachers are surprised they didn't get a yes. What you can do, however, is ask her main ballet teacher to phone them up for some feedback. We asked dd's teacher to do this last year, and some things they thought she had to improve we already knew, some things we didn't.

As for gymnastics, my impression is that doing some is beneficial (for core, strength and flexibility). If you and your dd feel it may be getting in the way, you could have a chat with her ballet teacher and express your concerns. From what you say, though, her teachers don't seem to be concerned and, as with everything, it's getting the balance right that is the key.

I hope she'll try again next year and enjoy her dancing in the meantime.

To keep me a little distracted (but not much), what do they exactly do at the associates class? How many hours do they have, and what kind of sessions? In Cecchetti associates, they have 90 minutes, first session is classical ballet, second is repertoire, sometimes other kinds of dancing but that is rare. It's a series of masterclasses. At CBA they also have two sessions, but the first one is 1:15, again classical ballet, and the second is 30 minutes and it varies. Most of the time they seem to do choreography.

11 minutes ago, amos73 said:

I did see some London results posted on fb by a school so must be coming out imminently - good luck to everyone waiting 🤞

Was that today, or were they from someone who auditioned at a different centre for London? Like other mums, butterflies in the stomach now, impatient to hear something.

44 minutes ago, sunrise81 said:

 

Last year we were in the very last audition in London and results were emailed on 21st June!!!!

 

 

In terms of SWL, my daughter was on it 3 days!!!!! Must have been near the top!!!! So sometimes not on it for a long time at all

Yes, indeed. What I meant was that even if you don't hear back immediately, anything can happen during the first term, especially if you include other centres too.