Dancers Dad

Glad to read this. Was worried we were being a bit tight! She actually enjoys the responsibility of budgeting, shopping well and seeing if there's a bit left over at the end of the month which is hers to spend.

IIR, funding took a painfully long time but there were stages - ie you were told what the calculation was likely to be but then it had to be verified. I can try and find the paperwork later... Not quite eleventh hour though. Definitely a large variation! Some seem to dine on several takeaways a week and shop just at the convenience stores, while my poor old daughter does her weekly trip to Aldi! We give her £200/month for food, washing and everything else (not ballet kit) - living, basically. She's done very well with her budgeting and is always chuffed if she saves a bit for a pizza every now and again.

Not sure if you saw earlier in the thread but my daughter will be in a flat of 7 next year for her second year, with two other second years. They're pretty quiet and lovely and on the lookout for any first years to join them who might appreciate being shown the ropes.

Thank you.

She doesn't - which she's very annoyed about because she knows how good for her they are - and how useful! 🙄

Thanks very much.

Thank you.

Thanks for this.

Thank you - soup in a thermos is a great idea - and thanks for all the other thoughts. She already eats pretty hugely at main meal times, although lunchtime is tricky as they don't have long and then they're straight back into the full-on dancing so she can't eat too much at once. Pasta salad at lunch is the most effective I think.

Thanks - but no nuts I'm afraid.

Thank you. Not sure re: avocado - I'll ask her. Worth a try.

Thank you.

Nice. She tends to have a banana a day but this definitely adds to it.

These are nice ideas, thank you. I can see some of these working.

Thank you. She does the sultanas but doesn't like cheese on its own! She knows it's useful and sticks it on jacket spuds, pizza, and other things occasionally to try and ensure she has a bit.

Absolutely hear you and thanks for sharing your experience, and I'm very sorry it was such a terrible one. This is something we've always been very aware of, and have made supreme efforts to create a healthy approach to food. I am constantly on the alert. All seems good so far but I'll never be complacent. We often talk about food as fuel and she is enjoying becoming stronger, rather than thinner, so fingers crossed.

Interesting - thanks. TBH. I don't see her going this route as she's shown no inclination to cut out meat and actually doesn't have that much anyway, so it feels important for protein, especially in the absence of nuts. She's always eaten veg by the kilo. She also doesn't tend to feel bloated - it's the emptiness that's the problem! But fair play to your daughter for having the gumption to go for it and benefit from it. (Very interesting to note the not needing to snack as much though.) As an aside, I watched an interesting little piece on the BBC website about a set of sporty twins who trialled meat v vegan diet for 12 weeks. Interesting, if slightly inconclusive.

Thanks - not heard of that so will look. Useful too as she does a lot of strength work in the holidays (and a bit in term time) so needs protein.

Slightly odd one, this but now my daughter is dancing all day everyday, she needs to keep fuelled up and is running out of vaguely healthy snack ideas! She does eat well already and doesn't want to add just more processed/sugary/bready snacks. Already eats plenty of fruit, veg, dried fruit. Makes her own seedy flapjacks. Doesn't like nuts or eggs unfortunately. Any ideas please?

To those with daughters starting this autumn and thinking about accommodation, just to let you know that my daughter and two NBS friends in the current year one have taken a 7-berth flat in New Medlock for next year and would be happy to have first years along to join them if they would like to. The three of them (all just turned 17) are lovely and pretty quiet - my daughter still goes to bed earlier than anyone we know! - and would be welcoming and helpful to any first years. I'm happy to have a chat with anyone who's interested.

Our daughter started at NBS (not sure if this is one you'd consider or whether it would be just the holy trinity?) at 16 - she would not have been ready to be away before that. At around age 13, her ballet teacher said that if she really wants to apply for vocational school, the hard work starts now - and it did. All the classes she could take at her school (ballet, tap, modern, contemporary, intermediate/advanced) plus a weekly private lesson and practising wherever we could find her some space most other days. Also working with a strength & conditioning coach to built strength for a couple of years - and a number of summer schools to see what it was all about.

Remembered to check with my daughter - at NM, wash is £3.10, dry £1.70. Big machines though, so they save a lot up for a wash. Also tend to dry most clothes around the flat to save money.

Ditto to all this. My daughter, also (so far) a non-singer, said the teacher and the other students were kind and supportive.

I have a daughter at NBS, staying in New Medlock. Happy to answer any questions. Had a rough start at NM with a spate of nightly fire alarms but that problem seems to have been solved. The Unite people are nice and helpful but stretched. The building's a bit tired but there's talk of a bit of room refurb this summer. In terms of booking, they do try and get NBS students all together, especially the youngsters. My daughter's flat is four 16-17 year olds, all first year. It's worth keeping an eye on the process though, as they did try and put a 20 year old university student in their flat at one point and it took quite a lot of calls and emails to persuade them to stick to their word. (We later discovered that the 20 year old had been moved in with three other NBS students next door! They obviously didn't object as loudly...)

When I was booking with Unite, the 51 week option was, bizarrely, cheaper than the academic year option, so we booked that. Probably would have done academic year otherwise (after very carefully checking dates covered full NBS term times).