Karen

There is a way to select both on one booking - select the price required before you click on the seat. You can click on full price, select however many needed, then change price to concession and select more seats. When you add to basket it will show different prices. It’s not easy and I’ve overpaid before just to get the seats. It won’t help you this time, but might save a bit when you next try to book. I do hope school use an alternative provider in future.

It was a dreadful palaver to book this year and I wonder if you might find that when the system catches up with itself there are tickets that were in peoples’ baskets that couldn’t be paid for and which go back on sale. I was lucky to get through on the phone eventually and pay for the tickets that went in my basket a couple of hours before, and fortunately stayed there. Better system needed in future, I think.

Thank you all for your advice. I will examine the beast at the weekend and see what I’m dealing with. I do know it’s a dark colour, but not sure of the fabric type, so will make some decisions and do some out of sight testing. I learned my lesson on watermarks when trying to remove a hair product mark from my fabric headboard. Never heard the vodka idea before!

Dd has just informed me that she is coming home on Friday with the tutu she will be wearing at the end of year show. It requires alteration to fit and thankfully I have a friend who can help with this (I am useless!) but it also apparently has make up marks on it and if possible, we are required to clean it. Baby wipes have been suggested but I have no idea if this is a good or bad idea! Any hints and tips for cleaning would be most welcome, please.

Congratulations and best wishes to your son. Hope he is very happy with the change of direction and finds surveying as fulfilling as dance.

Very sorry to hear of your situation and hope you and your dd find a solution that you look back and recognise was good for you. There’s been loads of great advice posted, so hope you can move on with some of the suggestions made 💐

I would also consider what the living options at both places consist of. I think that getting that right has a huge impact on how a young person settles and copes with life. From personal experience, I would prefer the option that made life easiest in respect of location, facilities (cooking, washing, drying,) plus closeness to college, ease of getting home etc, as other pressures are high and if these things don’t work easily, it adds another layer of stress. I’d also review the pastoral support offered by each institution and consider how I felt each place would care for my away from home 16 year old. Good luck!

Wow! Fantastic to hear your news. Congratulations! If you don’t try, will you look back and wish you had? If you answer that honestly, your decision will be made. Good luck. 😺

Would be really interested to hear from anyone dance related who has tried this. Thank you.

Easy2name do a range of naming options. There will be some things such as towels and sheets that you can use the punch on name buttons and I used iron on names for underwear. (They lasted well as long as they were applied with enough heat). Keep those horrid sew on labels to a minimum!

Jack in the box type puppet? It would jump out as the lid holding the spring down was released. Probably lots available on well known web sites!

Hammond students generally use Pro physio in Chester. Gary is recommended as the ‘dancer expert.’ Dd has had a couple of helpful sessions there, but I don’t have a great deal of info about them.

This is a very interesting read and I hope Eugene continues to feel content and on top of his life without the need to return to drugs and alcohol. I do think that sadly, it is an issue which rears its ugly head across many disciplines and professions and is a reflection of the life pressures and societal expectations of today.

Thank you for all your hard work, and happy new year to all the Moderator team.

Merry Christmas to you and all forum contributors. May 2019 be a happy year for all our dancers, wherever they are and whatever they choose to do. 🎄🎉🧚‍♀️💃

A good friend of mine was also there on Friday and enjoyed it very much.

2 fabulous workshops - one technique, one rep run by the fabulous Layla Harrison on Dunsford Performing Arts. Dates before Christmas to be confirmed.

Having watched the DaDa scales for a couple of years before we embarked on that route, it has been the case that they change only very slightly, possibly approximately matching inflation rates. Of course, next year could be different, but I can’t see any specific reason why it would be. Julie W is right that Child Benefit can continue for 2 years if A levels are taken.

Thank you for all your contributions and hard work as a moderator, Julie. Hope the new interests are as fulfilling and fun as dance. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re back one day as a ‘dancing grandparent’!

My Dd is in the second year of a 3 year diploma and in year 1 stayed with a host family which I believe was absolutely the best thing (it was also a school requirement). She has moved to independent student living in year 2, with 2 second year close friends and 2 third years. She has just come home for half term and looks well and happy. She says it’s great and not as hard as she expected. For my peace of mind, I have made emergency dinners and put them in her freezer, in case there is an unexpected long, hard day. We give her a monthly allowance and do an Internet shop whenever needed. As lots of others have said, it’s about knowing your child and what’s best for them. Many of dd’s friends have remained in host families in year 2 - it’s so individual as to what works. I do believe, however, that it would be a very special 16 year old who in year 1 coped with a demanding course, social changes, domestic chores and cooking, and thrived in the process.

I’m assuming you mean the Prep school as if it’s the senior school, he would be too old to be a JA. I don’t think there’s any restriction on what Prep school pupils can do dance wise out of school.

I have not tried this myself, so cannot make any comment about its effectiveness, but when Dd participated in EYB a few years ago, there was a pointe shoe workshop. Their suggestion was to paint a wood preservative, Cuprinol or the like on the inside of the box. If you can get one that limits wet rot, so much the better, they said. Good luck - must be so frustrating to have them wear out so quickly, 😀

I agree with Waitingmum - a very personal decision. I would try to stay away/not bring your child home, but if this doesn’t work, then do what you need to do. Think about yourself and the rest of the family too - if you are a long way away, up and back over a weekend or lots of weekends away from home is gruelling. Also remember that you will hear from your child in the phone calls how dreadful life is, leaving you upset all day, and they may skip away from the call to get on with the next thing, and be fine! Hope it gets better soon - it does for most.

If your daughter is interested in looking at alternatives, it’s possible to do 2 A levels at The Hammond and they are timetabled well to fit alongside dance classes within the daytime curriculum. DaDa funding is available too, so if that is secured, costs are for the parental contribution to DaDa and accommodation (host family for at least one year if U18) which, for middle income families is much less than £20k per annum.

Good luck - hope it all goes smoothly and is a fabulous new adventure. Keep us posted on news. Seniors started back today so good luck to those new pupils and returners too. 😀