Neverdancedjustamum

That’s such a relief @Emeralds, it is indeed the SAT. I bought him a few books from Amazon, it’s the same way I prepared for it many years ago (I also didn’t come from the British or American educational system).

I haven’t caught up with the news today on this and taking aside vocational institutions, we’ve recently encountered the challenge of being in the British educational system. My DS is intending to apply to universities both in the U.K. and overseas. We are having a hard time explaining to admissions offices in several other countries why some students here, in the two years prior to applying to universities, wouldn’t have necessarily studied English or maths or sciences. My DS is also about to sit a standardised exam for some overseas universities that assumes he would have been doing maths and English up to the point when he applies for universities. We don’t know how it’s going to pan out. Nothing to do with vocational training and studies but I guess it’s just to present the other side of it especially for those who want to pursue higher education overseas.

I have a few Claudia Dean leotards to sell, all are size adult small and are in excellent condition. Fully lined. All come from a smoke and pet-free home. £35 each including first class signed for postage already.

Quite a few still do, thankfully. Both my DCs go to state schools. In my DD’s school they all take 3 languages - Spanish, French and German - from Years 7 to 9. Year 10 and 11 they pick the 1-2 they want to do for GCSE. Same with my DS’s school, with the addition of Latin and Classics in Years 7-8 (so they basically take 5 subjects classed as “languages” in the first 2 years of high school). I remember in year 7 joking with my DD that she should pick German for her GCSE so she can look into going there for vocational school as we know someone who did go to one of the bigger schools there (who, incidentally, I’m pretty sure didn’t know any German before they went there).

I’m not sure if they offer scholarships, if there are any I suspect it will be to competition winners. They do offer direct entry to the next year’s intensives which I guess saves on application fees but those also often go to internationals. Not all, lest I be accused of generalising, but definitely the two offered direct entry from my DD’s group were both competition finalists from overseas. I suppose RBS would have some means-tested bursaries but I don’t have any knowledge of this myself.

It doesn’t include boarding for the junior group (13-15 years) but has the option of accommodation in a nearly hotel for the senior one.

I don’t think it’s too bad for a week although a previous poster is correct - it’s not really 5 full days of classes. I do think it’s okay for a week. I think if it was 2 weeks I will have to think VERY carefully as I would prefer an actual family holiday for the money and I really don’t know how anyone can afford 5 weeks intensive with boarding at the upper school SI! I think I’m in the wrong job or maybe have different priorities…

As someone who’s always naturally curious about anything and everything higher education, that sounds spot on. The RBS website is clear that whilst their degree is validated by Roehampton, it’s bespoke to the RBS training. A quick cross reference between the content of the Roehampton and RBS degrees shows a majority of different modules. An FD is most useful if it’s very relevant to the degree you want to do. I’m not sure how easy the first two years of RBS’s programme, and the subsequent FD Certificate, would count towards a full Bachelors degree elsewhere unless it’s a very classical dance BA.

All this is a contentious topic too - even separately from the original topic of this thread. In addition to funding concerns, another thing to consider is the government’s plans in relation to setting an independent regulator as a result of the Augar Review. It’s a discussion one can have for days but basically the government has been accused of devising a plan that attacks arts and the humanities. The review recommends U.K. HE courses should be “better aligned with the economy’s needs’ and ‘certain courses which lead to disappointment for a minority of students should be limited”. This is more to do with universities but is reflective of the kind of government educational policies we can expect to see in the future.

From what I gather, it’s not impossible but obviously not as easy and straightforward as the usual (more traditional) fresh application to higher education. It is understandably more limited once you embark initially on another qualification. The number of years that you can get a Tuition Fee Loan is normally calculated as: Length of current course + 1 year - number of years of previous study source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/going-back-to-uni-or-repeating-a-year There is also a list on there of examples of commons reasons in applying for an extra year of tuition support, which could be acceptable. However, these are quoted as those that won’t be normally accepted: financial hardship not liking your course reasons within your control It’s that last point above that will be very hard to evidence against.

From: https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies If you’ve studied before You’ll usually only get student finance if you’re doing your first higher education qualification - even if your previous course was self-funded. You may still be eligible for limited funding in certain circumstances and for some courses. If you already have a degree You may be eligible for limited funding in certain circumstances. You may get limited funding if you’re ‘topping up’ a higher education qualification, for example you’ve finished an HNC, HND or Foundation Degree and now want to do an Honours degree. You may also get limited funding if you hold an Honours degree or a higher level of qualification and start a new course. This could be a part-time Honours degree, a joint Honours degree or an Integrated Master’s degree in one of the following (or 2 if it’s a joint Honours degree): agriculture and related subjects architecture (if it’s a MArch RIBA Part 2 course) biological sciences computer science mathematical sciences medicine and allied subjects physical sciences technologies courses leading to qualification as a veterinary surgeon You could also be eligible if you’re starting a healthcare course on or after 1 August 2017.

Absolutely. And not just any university too, she’s at Stanford doing what sounds like the most fascinating yet intensive interdisciplinary major (almost like a combination of medical sciences and computing). Ironically, it was after seeing an interview of Bea and reading an article about her going to university that inspired my DD to focus on academics and prioritise her studies. My DD has had the pleasure of meeting Bea a few times and she’s just as smart and funny in person as she is on her Instagram posts. She’s just a joy, a wonderful dancer of course but she always gave the vibe of being chilled and not taking life too seriously (in a good way). https://news.stanford.edu/report/2023/03/08/act-ii-beatriz-stix-brunell-25-leaps-faith-life-beyond-stage/

Ours was about 3 weeks but I sent the application in the middle of summer when staff were on leave. The email did say that they were a little behind because of staff leave and the fact that the Artistic Director and Short Course Coordinator review applications together.

The deadline isn’t until the 29th I believe. We just turned down a place yesterday so I think offers might still go out.

Just direct message him and tell him what you’re after. He’s very good at giving suggestions. And he stocks WAY MORE brands and styles of leotards/shoes/accessories/everything than any of the London dancewear shops. If you’re after something that he can order in, he’s very helpful with that too.

He sent a couple of pairs for my DD to try and I thought they looked absolutely beautiful on her feet. Sadly, she’s so attached to her Blochs she didn’t want to risk it as apparently they felt different 😂 Scott did recommend the ones that’s her favorite now so I can’t really complain.

Devoted to Dance stocks them, although I’m not sure how many of the styles he has.

I can totally sympathise. We had a nightmare finding shoes that suited DD. I don’t even want to think how much money we’ve wasted on shoes that felt ‘fine’ in the shop but turned out unsuitable once worn in class. It’s been such a long and painful process that once we found the two that suited her, she now refuses to try others! I remember feeling like I was at the end of my tether and was seriously considering having custom ones made. Thankfully after one last attempt at Bloch, we chanced upon a brilliant fitter. That’s how my DD found her second fav pointes. I then contacted Scott of Devoted to Dance (on Instagram) and told him that my DD loves this certain Bloch style and he recommended a similar one. He sent over a few pairs and my DD found her current ultimate favourite pair. Devoted to Dance is brilliant, it’s just a shame we live too far to drop by his shop to have an in person fitting.

Be careful with Dancia too. We’ve only gone there twice and both times I felt like we were rushed and that the fitters were determined to only let my DD try on a couple of different pairs. When we went there for her first pair, the fitter insisted that if it’s for a first pair, my DD should only try the Grishko 2007 and a Bloch pair I can’t remember the style name of. This was before they even saw her feet. It might just have been our experience but I’ve never felt like the fitters there were committed to trying to help us find a good pair, perhaps both times the ones we got were tired as they were distinctly unenthusiastic and didn’t offer much in way of communications or advice.

Quite! Both of mine are in state schools and based on what I’ve read here, the state schools we’ve experience (albeit with over 1000 students each) seem to offer more opportunities and support. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the opportunities are more varied. Last year, from one of my DC’s school, at least two went on to vocational dance schools. The others on to university to pursue medicine, law, dentistry and whole range of other programmes, some went on to degree apprenticeship programmes, took gap years overseas, gained worked experience before going on to uni. Additionally, despite the overwhelming difference in number of students, I’m certain the Heads of my DCs schools know my DC’s names and faces. I was shocked at @Ruby Foo’s experience of her DD’s head of school calling her DD the wrong name despite being in the school for years already.

I think most would be well aware. Of those I’ve spoken with, they all say they are realistic and know the stats but would still go for it because it’s their DCs dream and ambition. And I guess as a parent, you can just hope that your DC will maybe be one of the minority who actually makes it into a big company.

That would be very interesting and perhaps there are studies already done. Incidentally I was watching the sports news this morning and there was a piece about a premiere league football club that employs mentors specifically to prepare academy players for the likelihood of eventual life outside football. They take a very realistic view that out of the extremely talented group of academy trainees they have, most of them would end up in careers outside football. I only had it in the background but the mentor was addressing a classroom full of teenagers in the academy and the mentor was saying something like “Look around you, realistically only one of you would be playing top tier football in x years’ time” or something along those lines. I did see them flash a university’s research finding that “98% of players awarded with an academic scholarship by English clubs at 16 are no longer playing in the top five tiers of English football at 18.” This was promptly followed by “55% of players deselected from academies suffered from clinical levels of psychological distress within 21 days of being released.” I do wonder if the stats are similar.

I think there’s an element of parents thinking ‘Surely, it can’t happen to my child’ or the thinking that all these cases are historical and therefore things won’t be like that anymore. A lot of the children would have come from local dance schools where I’m sure they would have been one of the best and as soon as that offer comes in, they’re hailed even more as so. And then there are those who have the fortune of being one of the ‘favourites’, I’m sure it will be harder for their parents to see when these things are happening as it’s not happening to their child.

Absolutely, this. The best programmes in the most reputable universities would need 3 A levels, with grade requirements and at least one required subject out of the 3. If you don’t have these, you would likely need to wait another year to take them as you have to wait for the next sitting and admissions cycle. Not all universities would accept certificates in lieu of A levels, and not all would have contextual admissions or alternative offers. Even those who offer contextual admissions limit it to applicants who come from backgrounds that make them historically or normally less likely to pursue higher education, particularly to that specific university.

I’ll message you though my recommendations I don’t think are based up north or would be willing to travel up…