Whiteduvet

My daughter was at Tring. She chose to leave since she no longer wished to dance professionally, but two years later she still says she sometimes wishes she was back there It is a great school: the dance training, academics and pastoral care (the three key factors for us) were all excellent. Based on what I had read elsewhere about the other ‘big’ schools in relation to these three things it was the only vocational option we were prepared to consider for her. Getting a career in dance is nigh impossible (see other threads) so good academics and strong mental health are crucial. I believe we were justified in our choice. People are often seduced by the ‘name’, as may be the case with the MDA awards, but a bit of digging can easily reveal much more about what’s important to you.

My child was at Tring (she has since left for reasons not to do with the school). They ate very well there in our experience: lots of filling meals and snacks available (and eaten). Sunday brunch for example was a big highlight. One thing we liked about the school which the RBS and Elmhurst lack, is its diversity: the dancers there mingle with children on the acting course and so are used to seeing people with much more varied body sizes and shapes than when only ballet dancers are present.

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Yes he knows. As keeps on being mentioned on his thread, a large number of his students have actually mainly been trained elsewhere. My points were surely obvious. You cannot compare boys to girls. You cannot compare experiences of year 7 to year 9. Competition hots up and the sleepover ends. Finally, there are many ways to skin a cat. Find the right school for your child but do your research. So many (JA) parents I met had no idea of the potential difficulties which lie ahead, again, mainly for girls. Hopefully all children are at or manage to find the right school for them.

Good point about the language. I think the experience of a boy in year 7 will be very different to that of a girl in year 9. As a wise teacher once told me, there’s more to life than ballet (yes really). And there’s more to ballet than the Royal Ballet School . Everyone’s choices and judgments for their children will be different. Many schools are available. Choose what is right for you and your family. Listen to other’s experiences, good and bad. Go into it all with your eyes open.

I wouldn’t necessarily see it as a sign of good training in the younger years. In my experience JA’s and to a large extent early year WL and MA’s are mainly about physique.

I feel your concern. My child was like this a few years ago. Having read the experiences on here and based on our experiences of RBS during the JA program (I found information given about progress was covert and unclear) I decided I did not want to trust them with my child. I talked to my child about what I had found out (age appropriately) and shared what I believed were the odds of success of those joining in year 7 (very small). We then decided together it was not a school we would want them to attend. My child is also very academically able and that too played a part in our choice: we think my child would have been bored there academically. You need to listen to your child’s dreams but you also need to be a parent. Ultimately I, as the grown-up, did not trust RBS with my 11 year old. Others will obviously feel differently and I do not mean to criticise in any way but that was our experience and our thought process. Good luck with your personal choice.

I thought WL was already under investigation?

So sad. This thread should be required reading for all ballet parents, particularly those of JA’s. The dream is not the reality.

Seconded. My child is there. They are academically naturally very able. They are being pushed and developed academically. We chose Tring since we felt the other schools could not compete with our ‘trinity’ of academics, pastoral and vocational. Tring ticked every box: the others didn’t (some only ticked one).

@Waverleyit’s such a hard choice. But looking at the success rates for the current year 9’s which have been quoted here: Where have the new year 10’s trained? Is the vocational training in years 7-9 fit for purpose and worth the risk if so many are replaced by those who have trained elsewhere? Of course it works for some, but the odds are very much against you (at every school). I appreciate however that these may be theoretical questions based on money and availability to top teaching at home. I wish everyone all the best in their individual decisions.

My child will also be leaving vocational school at the end of this year. Her love of ballet has reduced so much due to “having” to dance daily (her teachers are wonderful: this is a personal character trait!) it makes no sense to keep her there anymore. The pastoral care at her school though has been exceptional and we are grateful we chose her school: when applying we considered pastoral, academics and dance to be equally important and applied accordingly. I do not believe vocational school from 11 is necessary for success. We chose it because personal changes at home meant we could not provide her with quality training and so it was the only option. But I would not do so if there was the right training locally and then only if I was sure I could tip the odds in our favour. The very small proportion of children who join at 11 and make it through (I echo the sentiments above about only around a third of girls progressing through, for example…) represents for me a considerable risk of harm to a child for a very small change of success. We tried to tip that in our favour with our choice of school and I’m very glad we did. Doors have always been open to talk and chat, for example, always. That has been of huge value.

As in: there are many other wonderful career routes open to young people. I don’t mean to minimise the hurt and sadness but I think it’s better to know the truth and make choices accordingly.

It’s kind to say no means not now, but sometimes it does just mean no. That’s not a nice thing to face but it’s the reality. Not everyone is meant to have a stage career. And that’s just fine

But if those international students (trained differently) are chosen over British ones then does it suggest a problem with British training? And if a (any) school doesn’t prioritise its own lower school pupils and style then what is the purpose of the lower school in the first place?

They’re not and that’s laudable but then you look at the girls who are still training vocationally higher up the schools and the number of British children who have been trained slowly often decreases drastically.

Aware that this post may get deleted, I agree with Notadancema’s views: I have heard similar. My personal experience is that at WL academics are always secondary to vocational, whereas Tring treats both equally. We found this very important when looking at vocational schools, considering the realistic likelihood of success in dance.

Thank you. I’ve just had him (illicitly) on the phone again in tears. He wants to leave but is scared of making the wrong decision. His heart isn’t in dancing: to be honest I never quite believed he wanted it as a career but was happy to be proven wrong and he was so keen to go. We could stretch to private if we had to which I guess is something. I will speak to his house mistress today and get her view too. Maybe it’ll settle but it feels like if the basic reason for being there is no longer there, then the school will never fit.

I don’t think degrees in medicine or geography or a PhD in Physics (all Tring graduates) are particularly linked to performing arts? There is nothing which precludes a “purely” ballet school from achieving good, broad academic results (not all dancers have to be arts students!). And absolutely nothing stopping them celebrating students who go down the academic route. If the school has done its job properly, then graduates should have the skills they need to help them succeed, whatever their destination, and schools should celebrate this.

I agree about transparency. It’s all but impossible to work out destinations and results. So x girls graduated to the school’s upper school or y boys got a contract? How many were there from year 7? How many joined for the last year or two? How many received outside coaching? Impossible to work out. I think Tring’s new website is a good example of how all students are celebrated whether they end up in the performing arts studying or wherever else.

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. Open days are nice but they’re not going to tell you the truth. These schools are hugely impressive to look around. Doesn’t mean they’re the right school for your child. 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 often just accept prestige at face value.

I’d also suggest looking at how transparent the school is. If you’re already an associate, how much are you told about progress? How easy it is to talk to teachers and get honest answers? How much do you feel your child is treated as an individual? Will they take personal difficulties into account? Will they work through challenges with your child or move onto the next child eager to take their place? And, hand on heart, if you knew nothing about the school and its ‘name/fame’ would you still choose it based on the reality? There is a cachet to being offered / accepting a place at one of these schools: if you’re honest, is that a reason in potentially wanting it?

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.

Thanks both. Have managed to get access to the online parent portal and it’s confirmed Monday so flight changes are needed!!