Baker45

Seriously how do they get away with this sort of stuff?? It just puts a bad light on the whole art. Maybe this sort of thing happened 20 years ago but just be clear this has never been a thing since mine has been through the system https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/25332642/royal-ballet-schoolditches-daily-weigh-ins/

This is great if thats the experience you had with state schools but there would be many out there who would think otherwise. Your experience is the same as ours in vocational ballet school and it highlights that is both systems there are teachers who fail their students. All Im saying is to pick on these vocations schools when in plain sight theres a whole country of issues is pretty blinkered. This time of life is supposed to be a time you look back on as probably some of the best times but mine couldnt wait to get out If you think all mine does is sit in their flat talking ballet all night when they are based in central london with all that is offered in sight and nightlife then this is not right. The number of messages sent to the house staff to let them know about some grand plan to meet up with friends, see new things and generally probably get up to stuff I'd probably not want to hear would be several times a week. They become confident and adventurous and eager to seek out new things.

I know there is a lot of discussion on A levels and top ups and it is true that is you do not make it to graduation year (this is a very small number of students) they are sometimes offered to retake a year as an option. Those that do leave generally find places on other graduating years in other dance schools so it isnt like they drop out of ballet completely unless they chose to. Most normally carry on their dance careers elsewhere and find new dreams in other companies. Also alongside the degree course the students must also take other academic studies which can include A Levels and any other courses available (whether they have the time or not is another question). They are also mentored with careers advice as to what they would do if things didnt go as planned, injuries cut a career short or just general advice what the training they have had can l lead them into in future I do find some of the comments make some very big assumptions without actually knowing what is on offer and what alternatives there are should plans change. Yes the Panorama program has highlighted some failures in the system but to many in the system its light years ahead of a state school in support and opportunities

All I can add to the mix for those yet to start their dance journey is that mine is in the system and has been for several years. They said they didn't recognise the allegations personally (that doesn't mean they don't happen) and their time has been overall a happy and enjoyable one. Sure at aged 11 and still now they had some ropey times, home sickness, the feeling they weren't doing so well and feedback about improvements. Having to hear on the phone about things that were upsetting them obviously worried us but they were normally sorted out but to be honest the cause of most the grief were other students Mine also wouldn't say boo to a goose and that lasted a few years until they found their feet. There were teachers they liked and some they didnt. When some boys and girls were assessed out of course you would ask about them and it would either be a surprise or more often that not it wouldn't. New students that came in were to a large extent better dancers if you asked about them Would I have done something different. No, if that's were they wanted to be to try to become a dancer then I'll support them in anything they do. The local comprehensive for my other kids was challenging on a completely different level to anything at WL. I wouldn't want to be a kid again in normal school. Imagine what a panorama program would think about the general schooling system.....

Where do you stop if you think that not supporting ballet is an answer to anything. Ok so ballet disappears, which sport is next because they all have those issues when we talk about the top of the pyramid. Gymnastics, football. The answer is to find and stop these things happening not removing whole sports and arts from children's lives because of the behaviour of some people

And just to add the balanced view to this. There doesn't seem to be much discussion that after the investigation they found no evidence to support the allegations in the article. That was after a review from the two LADOs and the Met police in 2022 As a parent we would have been interested in the outcome.

Having had a child at WL there are pros and cons. The experience, independence and first class academic classes and results would have many people move into the catchment area if it were a standard school. Its hard when they start out and some take to it better than others so its probably the same at any boarding school if that is new to you The ballet training is good - you have to remember this is much like the football pyramid. Thousands start off at the bottom and at the WL stage you are looking at some of the best a that age in the UK so congrats. But you start hitting 14/15 and suddenly as RBS is one of those top ballet schools people start appearing from abroad when they are old enough to think about looking and moving. Much like football only a few make it up to a club and you will see most premier clubs with hardly any UK players - thats because out of the worlds best the UK are only going to have a small representation. So unfortunately its not that the training is bad but the competition widens to more and more dancers. The question is does your child want to dance potentially as a career If you are aiming for a place in the RB then statistically the % of getting there are very low but they arent the be all of dance and theres opportunities out there at all levels no matter how far you go up the system Also having other kids in the normal school system, the stresses of choosing schools was the same but more academically focused and when they got there there were issues and trouble on an entirely different scale to WL. Some of the stories I was told that happened in those schools - well...... Would I let them do it again - yes in a heartbeat. Was it easy - no. Also you could probably replace RBS with any of the UK dance schools and the same would apply