DancingWellies

Well done to your DD. There's a lot to take in now, especially with an offer later in the year. Don't try to over plan things in advance. As for coming home each weekend, take it as it comes. They're home more often than you think with leave outs, half term etc. Leave outs go fast enough, other weekends when they leave after RAD go by in a flash. The kids need downtime, bond with their class mates and become part of the school. There are planned activities most weekends so they dont get bored. The biggest adjustment now is probably for you. Most ballet parents end up devoting a lot of their lives to organising and transporting DCs to classes, someone else will do that for you now. Boarding is all part of the vocational school experience and training. The kids that go home each weekend do miss out to an extent and are 'different' to the others. Anyway welcome to the rollercoaster, the ride's just beginning!

Vocational students do around 25 hours, with proper physio and medical support. So yes students doing more does seem excessive and I doubt more necessarily equals better.

Years 8, 9, 10 places can be very limited, it will depend on leavers, bed spaces, MDS availability and whether they want you. Elmhurst had extra auditions last summer as they hadn't filled all their places despite high numbers auditioning. I know there is at least a couple of free beds in one of the boarding houses. To be honest it's best not to try and rationalise it, it'll melt your brain, the odds are against getting in later up the school but for some it does happen, it's like a lot of things, right place, right time and it'll come together. From experience keeping at it can also help, they do notice and track some of the candidates they don't initially place.

It varies, girls current year 9 there are 11 pupils, boys also 11, year 8 girls there are 17 which is very high.

Big fat A4 letter if it's a yes, small skinny one for no.

Ispend828, that's the sort of number I had in mind. There seem to be around 25 to 30 in the lower year groups. It wasn't a precise figure we were given on induction, more of you've done very well to get a place as for everyone of you here today there's at least 10 who didn't was the context. It's also clear they will only take people they want as evidenced by last year's late auditions after they hadn't awarded all the MDS funding in the normal auditions.

We were told at Elmhurst for every succesful student there were at least 10 who applied.

Baby ballet followed by local lessons with a great teacher. At 7 she saw Elmhurst on the telly and told her mother she was going there, we laughed good naturedly and carried on. DD didn't stand out until she was 8 or 9 when she started doing well in exams. At 10 it was suggested she should audition, nice idea but waste of time I thought. When she got finals at both WL and Elmhurst it came as a bit of shock. She didn't get a place but went on to make the most of some other great opportunities. She's now at Elmhurst! Still in shock.

2nd auditions are more fun, trying to work out the result from the size of envelope as the postman walks up the drive. From memory Elmhurst respond fairly quickly. Good luck to everyone, we went through this three years on the bounce, made it even sweeter when dd got a place.

Elmhurst seem to continue, DD has an RAD exam this afternoon. I think next week is off timetable but they do finish on Tuesday.