kiwimum6

It is my lad's first summer school and he is looking forward to it. A few of us balletcoers should say hi on the day. X

My ds auditioned yesterday. Not known to them as has never been before but he is delighted to have been given funding to go

Or 4

2 Tring girls at Bolshoi too

Savers plan, Tulip? There isn't anything left!! I agree that we can't assume funding will be there forever....but what to do when we have invested so much already and there is nothing left to give. I would console myself that the education was excellent...but , truth be told, it is even better at our local comp which is consistently 'outstanding'. They didn't go where they did for the academics,.

Mum in a spin, I see what you are saying,,,however many of us feel that we have been sold down the river. If you look at the original MDS website the idea behaind the funding was to ensure that no talented child would be deprived of training purely because of financial circumstances. We bought in to that idea and have been lucky to have had four children benefit from MDS funding. We did, indeed, make that choice and chose to send them to private school as that was where the training is. That funding is also available for the training of musicians...indeed a considerably larger amount for musicians than dancers. In recognition that talented children may not come from affluent families, MDS contributions are means tested and stretch families to the limit. I agree that it should. We have made the choice and made the sacrifices. Now, however, because of the change in the economic climate, there is to be no allowance made for siblings already in training.. Indeed, the two government departments for MDS and Dada work separately and any amount we pay out on dada will not be factored into MDS contributions which are already calculated to make us pay the most we can. Had we been aware of this before embarking on training we may have made different choices but that was not how it was sold at the time. Now, years down the line, after all the sacrifices made by the family to keep the children training, it seems to late to have wasted all that public and family investment to pull them out part way through their training. I remember when , 'Every Child Matters' was the political phrase du jour. I believe children should be allowed to reach their potential. Not all children excel academically but may excel in the arts.The question we should be asking is whether school providing this training should be private schools at all? After all, we all work and pay towards the best public sector education for our children and I believe they should have the education suited to their needs. I was shocked to read how little, relatively speaking that is, it costs to send a child to Paris Opera Ballet......and feel ashamed that so little attention is paid to the arts which is what makes civilisations great! In a recent communication from the departnent they reinforced that this was a life-style choice, hence no credit would be given for multiple siblings pursuing this path...yet just such credit is given at present under the MDS scheme. They mentioned that other families budget for elderly care and university places for offspring....I agree...we have to do that too! We bought into the idea that we could contribute to help our children achieve their potential and now the political goalposts have changed meaning many people will not be able to take up dada offers.. Perhaps the places at the schools will still be taken up and I may be worrying unnecessarily about school finances but could it possibly have the long term effect of a dilution of standards?

I am very concerned about how changes to funding will impact on schools operating mds and dada. Clearly schools like Tring, Elmhurst and Hammond have, until this year, had a large proportion of their income paid by the government through the old scheme. Under the new one, with fewer families able to take up their places, could this put the viability of these vocational schools in jeapordy?

Lovely to see familiar faces here. This production looks fabulous!

We were lucky and my lovely family doc in Hampshire saw us during his private session for free as his gigt to the arts. I really appreciated it!

If you feel that auditioning for schools would have been for the best, there is always next year. It comes around socquickly!

Takes me back to my ballroom dancing days... Had to gove up when my dad fell down a hatch at the docks sustaining compound fractures in both legs. We couldnt travel from Scotland to championsips at Crystal Palace so I gave up. Guess that' s why i am so keen to do everything i can for my guys .

Takes me back to my ballroom dancing days... Had to gove up when my dad fell down a hatch at the docks sustaining compound fractures in both legs. We couldnt travel from Scotland to championsips at Crystal Palace so I gave up. Guess that' s why i am so keen to do everything i can for my guys .

Good luck for comp.

About 15 mins drive although they have a detour up at mo for 26 weeks so may take a few extra mins.

i like da Vincis in Tring but thereafe several other good restaurants including a lovely indian restaurant just down from the sxhool called Olive limes So good i said it twice !

i like da Vincis in Tring but thereafe several other good restaurants including a lovely indian restaurant just down from the sxhool called Olive limes.

Plenty of parking at the school and just across the road from the theatre.

My son would have loved it but too expensive !!

Yep.. My son turned his down last year!

They will have a ball. The studios are just fab and they know how to make things fun x.

Don't know how i postedvthevsame thing twice so have edited it to this... Admitting my uselessness with technology!

Yes it is... Although i am told costa has been extended. I live in the town and never go there.

Or we could retire to the Akeman round the corner which does a fab coffee for £1 !i think any parent who puts up with all this ballet malarkey should be welcome to attend. I plan to watch the show in the eve to support my daughter's old school mates!

We should have a balletcoforum coffee in costa!