Its her Life

Congratulations Haggis & Hambleton. I've heard of a girl from Tring getting RBS upper school too. :-). That's 3.

At my dd's finals two years ago, there were call backs at the end of the day (of which my dd was one of them) so we had to wait around a long time after the initial morning audition. Also, the physio assessments seemed to take a very long time too. So yes, I would definitely book your flight for the following morning.

Feel for you all ..... this was the situation 2 years ago with my daughter, so I can really sympathise. She struggled with juggling the final stages of Art GCSE with finals of auditions. I was so glad in the end to never see a paint brush, pallette or pastels ever again! Just as bad was receiving the results from finals in April, only to find you were on the 'waiting list' for a particular school and then having the stress and suspense of waiting to see if you gained a place whilst doing GCSE exams. By the end of it all, it took a toll on my health.

Hi Miracle. F1 and F2 stands for Foundation 1 and 2. Basically, the students are split into 2 sets, with F1 being the highest. Then when they go into the second year of sixth form (ie upper sixth) their training is combined with the third years and they choose to follow either the 'classical' route (C1 & C2) or the 'dance' route (D1 & D2).

The other alternative that I and my DD would do (particularly if football was on) was to get off at Old Brompton tube station instead and walk down through the cemetery ..... feeding all the squirrels at the same time! You come out of the cemetery literally opposite the top of Hortensia Rd.

That's the way we always used to go when my dd was an associate there. District line to Fulham Broadway, then a 10 min walk.

When my dd auditioned for Central, all students called back for Finals were invited to attend a separate open day at which they and parents took part in a tour of the building, watched several classes (one of which was a rehearsal by Ballet Central) + attended a couple of talks - one by the Director & senior members of staff & one by the physiotherapist. There was also a Q&A session.

When my dd was doing all her auditions two years ago, she didn't have to do fouettes at ENB or Central finals, but did hear from a friend who got to RBS finals that they had to do them there. But whether that is still the case now, I don't know.

Sheila, are you not at Move It this year?

Hi Spooky, I drove to Move It on a Sunday last year as we were en route back to vocational school and parked in a multi storey car park just adjacent to Olympia. I can't remember off the top of my head how much it cost, but I pre-booked and I do remember it being very reasonable. You can just turn up on the day without pre-booking but I didn't want to take the chance. As it happened though, the car park didn't appear very busy at all.

Swanprincess, when my dd auditioned at Nothern 2 years ago, we specifically asked the school for the half term date, (as she had already had lots of time off school for other auditions & I wanted to avoid another day if possible) and they gave her the date. She had the 1.30 slot and I believe we got away about 4.30 but I can't really remember now. It all depends whereabouts your name is on the list for the interview etc.

When my dd auditioned 2 years ago, it was definitely a letter by post as for the finals we had a lengthy medical form to get completed by our GP.

When my dd auditioned for Tring in Jan 2013, it snowed really heavily the day before and the school did cancel the audition. Everyone got telephoned. Mainly because it was unsafe for people to travel and also I believe half their staff couldn't get into work either. However, I later learned that a couple of people went ahead & still auditioned because they had hotel accomodation booked, which if they cancelled they would have lost the money. Luckily I had booked a flexible hotel booking which I was able to change.

We also stayed the night before and ate in a really lovely Italian restaurant up the road from the dance school, near the main crossroads & near the Premier Inn. If I can remember its name. I'll repost.

Could she not stay with a host family? That would take a lot of the pressure off.

Fantastic news Taxi. Congratulations to your dd and the best of luck for the finals in March.

Don't forget, tube & bus isn't the only option. Clapham Junction main railway station is also only about a 10-15 min walk from RAD, so provides many other possible options. All the trains going into Victoria & Waterloo stop there, plus London overground. Clapham Junction is therefore the easiest option for anyone traveling from the south. But if Waterloo is easy to get to, then you could get train from there down to Clapham Junction. Only takes about 5 mins. Or the London overground (west London line) which comes down from Shepherds Bush way goes to Clapham Junction. Alternatively, Southern Railway run a direct service from Milton Keynes, via Watford, Wembley etc down to Clapham Junction which could be best for anyone living in that vicinity.

Any reason why you did not want pointe shoes, as Sansha do decorated shoes, but they are pointe, not soft http://www.sansha.com/footwear-pointe-stage.html

Depends how low the back of the leotard is though as even a strapless bra could show. If she doesn't actually need the bra for support, but only because it's see through, could you not sew a shelf lining into the leotard. I've done this before. Cut one out of a leotard which no longer worn (obviously in your case it would have to be a pale colour though) & sewn in to another.

Yes, we walked from Piccadilly stn when we attended an audition couple of years back & would agree about 10 mins.

I've parked there several times on a Sunday with absolutely no problem, but have no experience of a weekday I'm afraid. The 170 bus passes through Battersea Square.

We used the Premier Inn on Hagley Rd too. Good because free car park, not too central to be too noisy but convenient enough to get to Elmhurst following morning. Took about 10 min drive. Beefeater restaurant onsite & a TGI Fridays next door as well.

Congratulations on your dd's place at Tring. What fantastic news to suddenly come out of the blue. But what a panic for you. My dd is at Tring (now in upper sixth). Tips I would give are: Make lots of lists, ie everything she needs to take & sort out. Sub divide down into - everyday clothing, dancewear, footwear, toiletries household items such as bedding (they need 2 sets), towels, things to decorate their room & so on Depending on how she will travel back & forth at Exeat weekends & holidays, a student 16-25 railcard is worth getting as gives discount. Various size suitcases are useful - small one can then be used for exeats, bigger one for half term. Don't pack too much into one heavy case/container as there are 4 flights of stairs to carry everything up to the girls lower sixth boarding! More lighter weight luggage is easier. The girls love decorating their rooms to make themselves at home, so take plenty of photos/pictures (+blu tack of course) & other pretty nic nacs. Many have those pretty decorated storage boxes for keeping stuff in on shelves. My dd found a multi socket extension cable very useful I assume your dd has her own bank account, so make sure she has a,bank card etc for using at weekends. A Costa points card very useful too ! An 'unlimited texts' phone contract!! What a busy and exciting half term you are going to have. And within 2 days of starting, she'll have Tring's Bonfire and fireworks party to join in with too. The school light a huge bonfire in the grounds & there are hotdogs followed by a massive professional fireworks display on the back lawn. PM me if you have any other questions.

There was a trailer type episode last Mon eve when Abbey Lee actually went to Liverpool to meet up with & watch Jennifer Ellison's dancers. She wiped the floor with them! And yes, it looks like the mums are certainly going to feature heavily. This episode might already be available on You Tube.

When my dd auditioned the year before last, all auditions were held on a Mon spread over several months from Feb til as late as April. There was just the one audition, you got allocated either a morning or afternoon. This consisted of a ballet class (parents got given a tour whilst this was taking place), then some auditionees were selected to present their solo & then some a physio assessment.