Pups_mum

I've never bought a pair of pointe shoes (well, not for myself) so no specific knowledge, but I am the owner of a very strange pair of feet so I can empathise with your difficulty. I've got very small feet (size 1.5 UK sizing) that are quite wide in the forefoot but narrow at the heel, with stupidly high arches and I over pronate quite badly too. Getting regular shoes is a nightmare. Sports shoes are dreadful too, as obviously most people with my size feet weigh about 30kg and don't put the same kind of loads through their running shoes etc as a grown woman does. It's a good job I've never danced really! But anyway, I've got a lot of experience of dealing with shoes that don't really fit me, and have spent a lot of money, plus literally spilt blood, sweat and tears trying various gadgets and methods of making badly fitting shoes wearable. Sadly, I've found that mostly they don't work, and certainly if I have to put more than one thing inside a shoe I know they are never going to be comfortable. I know it's a bit different with pointe shoes as lots of people need accessories to help with fit, but I do think that if you are having to try lots of things to make a pair even bearable to wear it's sometimes best to admit defeat and get another type, even if they don't look quite as nice. I would love to be able to wear pretty shoes so I can understand the quest for the most flattering pointe shoes. I hope you can sort it out, but don't risk damaging your feet - I know I have come close to doing so on occasion in the past.

This is definitely a good idea, and will give you, and her a better idea of the best way forward. However....a word of caution. Just bear in mind that whilst summer schools do give some insight into schools, they are not truly representative of full time training in the same institution - the timetable will be different, staff may be different and crucially the domestic arrangements will be different. In my experience at least, most dancers love most summer schools and tend to come home full of enthusiasm for wherever they've just been. Which is brilliant of course, but can make logical discussions about different options a bit tricky sometimes! Time is on your side. Look around, consider all your options and see how things pan out.

Well said. The impact of any action is more important than the intention. Any teacher who hopes to motivate and encourage the majority of his or her pupils by publicly sharing their exam results is likely to be disappointed. Personally, I don't have an issue with competitions. DD danced in festivals, my older son competes in music festivals, the youngest plays competitive sport. In those circumstances of course they know who got most marks, crossed the line first etc and are subject to a critique in public. There are valuable life lessons to be learned from competitions and plenty of children enjoy them. But exams are not competitions, particularly in the context of recreational dance classes, and very few students will benefit from having access to the whole class's results. It's the teacher's job to share the individual's results and help with the interpretation and learning.

I think that's sensible. In the UK your DD would be at the older end of her school year, but certainly not unusually so. There will be plenty of students of her age and older auditioning the year after. Not dance related, but I have two sons, one of whom is amongst the youngest in his school year and the other is one of the very oldest - in fact had he not been overdue he would have been in the year above. They are both absolutely fine academically, but my "old for the year"son has just had a generally smoother ride through his education to date. Obviously that's not the only factor, and things may yet change. But from my observations and indeed my own experience of being young in my school year, I do think there are potential disadvantages to being the youngest in a year group. When you add in the extra dimension of being a long way from home, I think a bit of extra maturity would make a significant difference.

There's at least one other member here who lives outside the UK but whose DD joined a British school whilst technically "too young" due to different school years, so it is obviously possible. However, if I recall rightly, that was a 17 Year old joining a post 18 course, which I think is a bit of a different situation. Personally, I would be very cautious about a 15 Year old starting an upper school course. To be honest, I think the degree of independence that is required is challenging for many older students, never mind a not yet 16 Year old. Whilst your DD would only be a few months younger than the youngest applicants in the "correct" UK school year for post 16 entry she would certainly not be too old a year later, and I would imagine she would be far readier to live and study independently then. As others have said, Rambert do take quite a range of ages, so there's no harm in asking, but I certainly wouldn't feel that she has to start at such a young age.

It's really best not to over think these things. It's easy to tie yourself up in knots trying to figure out what they are looking for, what the probability of a place is and how to interpret what happened at the audition. But the bottom line is that we don't know, probably never will do, and can't really influence any of it anyway! I think it's important for both children and parents to understand from the outset that there will be a LOT more "no" than "yes" letters - I think that overall about 1:10 are successful - as that does help put things into perspective, but beyond that I think it's best just to enjoy the audition as an experience in its own right and then forget about it until the results come. What will be will be. A "yes" is of course wonderful, but a "no" isn't necessarily bad - there will be many other opportunities for these little dancers I'm sure.

I absolutely agree. I am of the age when it was the norm to read out results in order, and note the class position on school reports and I'm glad to see that's gone. It's useful to know where a child is in comparison to what's expected nationally, whether they are comfortably within the expected range for the set they or in or are just hanging on by the skin of their teeth, and whether they are progressing at about the right speed. But knowing precisely how the class was ranked doesn't add anything in my opinion. I was top of the class in >90% of all the exams I ever did at school and second or third in all the others. It didn't motivate me, as I achieved that pretty easily. If anything it made me a bit complacent and set me up for something of a shock later. But there were kids in some of my classes who were working their socks off to achieve far lower marks. How must it have felt to work so hard, maybe achieving more than you thought possible, only to hear that you were 25th in the class and had got about half the marks that the top 2 or 3 had? And what's more, to know that everyone else knew too. Hardly motivational. It is perfectly possible to motivate and breed resilience in children and adults without involving public humiliation. What matters is achievement relative to individual potential, not compared to the achievement of a potentially rather random bunch of other people. I'm pleased to see the back of such practices, and my family is a definite snowflake free zone!

It seems to be very common. My son has a restricted diet due to a medical problem, and his forbidden foods include all dairy produce. His vitamin D has always been OK, but towards the lower end of the normal range. His consultant has commented several times that it's unusual that he is not deficient as a high percentage of our local population (we're in the north of England) are lacking, even on a "normal" diet. I presume it's down to his dislike of long trousers!

I think this sort of thing was deemed "character building" until fairly recently. The result mechanism for my professional exams was like some kind of bizarre game show. At the end of the day, all candidates had to reassemble in the hall and someone came to the front and said "I will now read out the numbers of the successful candidates". If your candidate number was called you had to walk to the front of the hall, through a door into another room where they checked your name against your number and then left you to make small talk over sherry with the examiners. I had a recurring nightmare for a few years in which I got through the door only to find I had misheard the number and actually hadn't passed. Fortunately it never happened in real life! They have stopped doing it that way now thankfully, and put the numbers on a noticeboard now, which is not quite as bad. I don't think public humiliation helps anyone, and the stress experienced even when you are successful is hideous. I suppose it's over quickly though, better than waiting for weeks for a letter.

I think that this is a risk, and when I hear about the amount of summer schools, masterclasses and so on that some students are doing on top of their regular classes I do sometimes inwardly scream "give that child a break before THEY break!" But on the other hand I think that sometimes it's best to take things with a pinch of salt, especially how life is portrayed on social media. When my DD was at home she was often at her dance school from 8 til 6 on a Saturday, as were most of the other "serious" students. I would sometimes be aware of other mothers hinting that this group of students was "doing too much". In reality, they weren't dancing for 10 hours at all. They had a few lessons scattered through the day and the studio was too far to make it worth going back and forth, so they would do their homework, help the teachers a bit and just hang out together in between times. But of course the photos on their social media tended not to be "here's me doing my maths homework in the waiting room"! I do agree that there's a risk, and social media can certainly reinforce problems, but I suspect it's not as widespread an issue as it might first appear.

I am sure that if the panel see a child who has the attributes they are looking for they would offer a place if they were wearing a bin bag. They may well prefer their students to wear a certain type of shoe, but I really can't imagine the panel members saying "Well number 24 had a perfect physique, flat turnout, incredible feet and amazing musicality but she wore satin shoes, so that's a no". They are looking for children that they believe have the raw material to fit in with their method of training, not sartorial elegance.

Of course the other thing to bear in mind is that exams to a degree measure a students "exam technique" as well as their knowledge of the syllabus/skill etc. Some people are naturally better at dealing with exams and some teachers will coach their pupils in exam technique more than others. For example, I passed all my professional exams first time very comfortably, but a colleague who worked just as hard as I did and had at least as much, probably more knowledge and skill than me, had a real struggle and multiple attempts to pass the exams. The difference was exam technique. We were pretty closely matched in the real world, but our exam results suggested something very different. Also people have different learning styles. My DD learns quickly, reaches a decent standard pretty fast but then slows right off. Spending too long on anything tends to put her backwards if anything. Whereas others may start more slowly but continue to improve steadily for longer. Of course it's great to get a distinction, and I think a mark in the 80s is something to be proud of, but on the whole I think it's not worth worrying about the details too much. Most exams are just gateways - you need to get through them to move on,and at the time they are very important but in the future, the significance fades. In the same way as now nobody is interested in my A level results because I have done many more exams since then, the significance of a mark of 84 vs 90 will soon be forgotten. All anyone can do is do their best and learn from their experiences. If a student is doing that, then in my humble opinion, they can be proud of themselves, whatever the mark.

I think there will be a lot of unintended consequences from this. I'm on the committees of the sports clubs my son belongs to and the relevant national bodies are bombarding us with info and it's causing a lot of anxiety. It's hard enough as it is to get enough adults to volunteer to keep things running, and anything that is seen as an additional burden is likely to make matters worse.

I've just driven my youngest child home from school and I started the conversation with the usual "what did you do today at school" question which was met with a moan about the "boring" and "confusing" work he's got to study for English Lit. Well I wasn't surprised he was confused when he told me the title of the work, but was slightly alarmed. I know the government is always telling us that they are raising standards....but Ben Jonson in Year 7?? And I really don't think that some of the content of this particular work is at all age appropriate, so started trying to subtly ascertain how the teacher had explained particular plot points. Youngest child was looking more and more confused and eventually said "Are you sure we're talking about the same book Mum?". "It's not a book" I replied " It's a play". "No, no, it's definitely a book Mum". Note to self. Ask questions. Don't assume. It turns out that there's a novel called The Alchemist. Still, at least I haven't actually sent the irate email that i was composing in my head!

We live in rural northern England and everything is a long way away. Not just regarding ballet of course, it's the same for many things including my other children's activities, my continuing professional development activities, specialist healthcare and simply getting a flight to go on holiday. It goes with the territory if you live outside a major city and something that you get used to of course. We regularly travel for 2 to 3 hours each way for what are billed as "local" opportunities in my youngest child's sports - I'm sure some people think we're crazy, but it's just the way things are if you live in a more remote area. BUT, I would always advocate seriously weighing up the pros and cons of every opportunity on an individual basis. Is the benefit to the child worth the cost to the family? Are there other ways that the time, money and energy might be better spent? Paradoxically, travelling further but less often is an option that can sometimes work out better. For example, staying somewhere for a few days at a time for courses can be more productive, less exhausting and similar in cost than frequent gruelling day trips. Children are remarkably resilient of course, but travel is very tiring for everyone, and you need to consider your own well being too. Other children are another consideration of course. Whether you take them or leave them at home it can be difficult. There's potential for sibling jealousy if a lot of time and money is spent travelling for one child's benefit, and of course it sets a precedent if younger children subsequently have interests needing a similar level of parental commitment. Fortunately there is quite a big age gap between my DD and her younger siblings so my dance taxi duties had significantly reduced before I had to start travelling a lot for other activities, but it must be a nightmare to have more than one needing that degree of input simultaneously. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, but I do think it's easy to get swept along thinking that you must travel to all kinds of things, especially "big name" schemes, possibly overlooking other less prestigious but potentially valuable things nearer to home.

One tip my DD was given years ago, was to imagine that there was an appreciative audience behind and just above the examiner, and to dance for them. Apparently this helps you project more, and keeps the eyes up whereas focussing on the examiner tends to constrict things somewhat. Hope that makes sense - I know what I mean but am not sure I've explained it properly!

At 10, I would think she will audition with the juniors regardless of grade. They do have some flexibility for 11/12 year olds - my DD did the senior audition when she was 11, and some 12 year olds do the junior audition. But I would think a 10 year old would be better doing the junior audition. If in doubt though you can, always email Miss Lewis and ask. They don't stay as separate groups throughout the programme anyway, so it probably doesn't matter that much to be honest! Casting is done at the first rehearsal and the groups that the middle of the age range encompass tend to be made up of the older ones from the junior audition and the younger ones from the senior audition. Likewise they are put into 3 groups for daily class before the rehearsals, which are based on what level they are at as well as age. Size is a factor of course as they have to fit in the costumes, so that does influence what parts are allocated, but many of the groups involve students from both junior and senior auditions.

Aww, bless her, what a shame. These things can be very daunting. But sometimes we learn the most from experiences that don't go according to plan. Next time she will know more what to expect and will probably feel far more confident. Just getting up on stage and having a go is a big achievement so she should be proud of herself.

Brilliant news - I was wondering how you got on. A number of girls from my DD's old school were in the scholarship group so I was disappointed they didn't get it, but now pleased it was you who did! Have a lovely time, I'm sure you will really enjoy it, and it will give you a great confidence boost too.

I don't think there's any magic answer to success in any kind of exam, be it dance, music, academic or anything else. Sure, a little bit of luck helps, but what really matters is preparation. If you've done the work - which I'm sure you will have - then just believe in yourself and go and show the examiner what you can do. Stick to shoes that are tried and tested, and in between exams have a drink and a nutritious snack, and relax.

So sorry to read this news. Best wishes to your daughter for a good recovery. I hope she soon finds something else to focus on and learns to be happy again. And likewise for you and the rest of the family. Take care of yourselves x

I think what Nicola H was trying to get at is that plain X rays might not be the best imaging rather than that no imaging is needed. A&E staff have specific criteria to follow in determining whether an ankle injury needs an X ray, but they aren't generally looking at injuries from the perspective of a would be professional dancer/ elite athlete. An expert opinion from a dance or sports specific health care professional would perhaps be best first, as they are more likely to recommend the right imaging. Admittedly that may not be easy to come by of course - there may be no option other than A&E in some areas. But either way, the decision about investigations has to be made by someone who can request them, and that decision is made on the basis of history and examination. So the key thing is to find the best "someone" you can.

That is a dilemma. Two excellent but very different schools. I would make a list of the pros and cons of each and score them to see which one comes out on top in a semi scientific way. One may score a lot higher than the other if you put it down on paper. If that doesn't help, I've used this totally unscientific method before now. Toss a coin let your DD think she has to go with that option (even though she doesn't!). Then see how your DD feels about what the coin has chosen. If her first emotion is disappointment, pick the other one. If it's happiness/relief, you know that that choice is where her heart lies. Sometimes the harder you think and the more rational you try to be, the more difficult a decision gets. Gut feeling often gives us the answer.

I was about to say much the same. If my son had to do his piano exams in the evening after a full day at school I may as well just give the entry fee to charity as the chances of him reaching his potential would be pretty much zero. And I doubt his school teachers would get much out of him as he would wind himself up into an increasing frenzy of anxiety as the day went on. DD is a more laid back personality so would probably cope a bit better, but i still don't think she would show herself at her best. I doubt many students would really. The average dancing or musical child will probably do one two exams a year, usually needing at most, half a day off each. This is hardly comparable to taking a fortnight off in term time to go on holiday, and realistically hardly likely to majorly impact on their education. Quite correctly in my opinion its a non issue for most schools and should be for all schools.

Sorry to hear this Suvis. Its tough. I can still remember how dreadful it was telling my DD that she hadn't got into RBS JA's but her best friend had, and that's over a decade ago now. To be honest, I'm not sure there is anything that you can do to ease the upset really. As parents of course we want to be able to put everything right for our children but sadly we can't. We can't make audition panels change their minds, and often we can't even give a good explanation of why a particular outcome has happened. I just used to remind my DD that she was still the same person after we opened the envelope/email as she was before, and just as loved and valued. Not being successful at one audition doesn't necessarily mean that she won't be at others and different opportunities will come along I'm sure. She did well to get to the finals as these schemes are all massively oversubscribed, so she obviously has potential. I think its particularly hard at this age as most of the little ones who are applying for junior associates etc are among the best at their local schools, and its quite a shock to go out into the wider world and discover that the competition is quite as intense at it is.Its often the first time they have faced rejection and there's really no way to make it easier. With time they get more resilient (and so do we!). Cuddles and Easter eggs may help, and many swear by wine - for yourself of course!