Neverdancedjustamum

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…

It is indeed such a gamble and even with it being so, and I suspect even with all the discussion surrounding the Panorama show, I highly doubt the school’s/schools’ application numbers would experience a dip. Already I know of lots of young dancers and parents busily preparing to meet the application deadline this year - booking photo shoots, privates, additional classes and physio sessions, etc. The number of those who turned down year 7 places this year surprised me, if I’m not mistaken, it’s much higher than previous years. I do wonder if this was just a blip though and despite all this talk I really doubt it will make much of a difference once offers come out. I have spoken to so many parents who used to be quite vocal about not wanting to send their children at such a young age to board and/or parents who don’t want to send their children to so and so school as they’ve heard it’s quite an intense/stressful environment and yet once they receive an offer…it’s a hard one to resist I guess. I’ve also spoken to many parents who have heard of these things, are critical of the school, and yet year after year they would still apply. A big name is hard to resist. On the surface, it appears to be the best way to get to an ambition or dream despite all such talk as “all roads lead to Rome”.

I agree with you completely. I think it’s definitely not the same with general education schools, comprehensive or not. Pupils are not in these schools with the same primary goal, they all have different ambitions which they are free to explore and work towards in the school. I can imagine parents will find it easier to move their children to a different school should they feel the resolution offered or the actions implemented are not sufficient when a concern arises. The kids in a way do not feel like they need to be in that particular school if anything went wrong, they can still get to where they want to be attending a different school. They don’t feel the need to stay somewhere because they are one of only XX number of students taken in from all over the world. They can keep their school and home lives separate. They can find their niche groups within the school - some are sporty, some are academic, some are into the arts, the general atmosphere I feel won’t be as stifled and intense. I can only speak of this from the pov of someone whose DCs never went to vocational school. Both my DCs have always been in state schools and both confirm that their respective heads and deputy heads from past and present schools have been very visible and always made it clear that they can be approached in confidence at any time if they encounter any issues with peers or other staff members. The same message is made clear to parents. We only have to email any teacher or even the head and be assured they will personally get back to us asap. This is of course from my own personal experience but I can’t really compare vocational schools to academic schools. We are talking about vocational schools that have maybe less than 200 students in the whole of its lower school. In a normal state school, that is mostly likely just one year group. It is my belief that for schools with such small enrolment, there should be a whole lot more scope for a nurturing and personalised educational experience, where every student is known by name, where processes and policies are implemented properly, where there is excellent oversight of everything and everyone.

If this is published information, I’ve never come across it though I haven’t actively looked for it. I suspect it’s an overwhelming majority. I personally know a couple of students who went there who confirm the demographic of the school is majority French. From the youngest years through to the final year. There are a few competition winners, not many, and often in the older years only. Same with those progressing from school to company. Majority French, with a very small number of graduates from overseas. If Wikipedia were to be believed (and I would advise taking this with a grain of salt), it states 95% of those admitted to the company are French.

My apologies, perhaps it was the wrong use of the word “guess”. A majority of them are quite recognisable from social media however, it was wrong of me to imply they aren’t British. Perhaps they have British passports too. I have no intention of being xenophobic, especially as I’m not from this country originally either. It is going to be tricky if we are to be very strict with terminology. Home grown/ home born / locally trained / resident in the country / national / passport holder - it’s a minefield as someone, for example, who has ever applied for funding will find out. In any case, I would love (my outsider’s observation) to be proven wrong. Perhaps someone with a child in the first year cohort would know.

I just saw photos of the new first year upper school students. I could be mistaken but of the 15 girls I saw, I would guess only one is British and only one was at WL from Year 7. Obviously quite off topic but my DD was recently in an RBS intensive and of almost 30 girls I’d say less than a handful are British (I could actually only see 2-3, one was my DD). Predictably, at least two were offered direct entry for next year’s intensives, both YAGP winners from overseas. My DD confirmed she found both were amazing, and very advanced for their age. To be fair, my DD was just in awe to be there and of everyone there as she’s just more a recreational dancer. This is, of course, quite off topic for this thread and perhaps can be episode 2 of a Panorama mini-series.

I can confirm the same is the case for universities we have visited so far. 3 A Levels, and for certain programmes, they require specific A Level subjects for at least one of those 3 A levels. Some universities, however, may have contextualised entry requirements. These are the ones that may accept a diploma in lieu of a third A level.

I would agree with the 50/50 split or the curtains over mirror option but my DD spent a few years in a dance school with no mirrors (the quintessential British local ballet class in a church/school hall). During her classes where she’s in a proper studio with mirrors, teachers often have to remind her to check the mirror to see if her placement or posture etc looks correct so I do think there’s value to having mirrors. This probably would depend on the age of the child too. The older they are, the more in tune they are with their bodies and they know how it ‘feels’ like if their placement etc is correct and they don’t need the visual cues as much.

It’s funny how experiences differ. My DD found the food on offer plentiful during one of Tring’s previous Easter intensives. She was warned by many that it is at White Lodge summer intensive that she’d need to bring snacks as the food wasn’t enough. She attended WL SI and said the food was wonderful and there was lots of it! She said she usually had 2 plates of food and one bowl of pudding every meal. I think she made the staff very happy with her appetite.