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Tring Park School - please help ?


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It's not that we should only give positive feedback Primrose, and my post about the Acceptable Use Policy was a general reminder, not intended to target just one or two posters.

 

As a parent I think it's important to get as much information as possible, and if people have issues at any of the schools which new and prospective parents would like to be aware of, then that's fine.

 

But the rules of the forum need to be kept in mind.

 

 

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I would like to say that Tring was not my only choice for 6th form i was also offered another one of the top post 16 vocational schools. I recieved a dada for Tring in the first round of offers after final audition. I have very much chosen to go to Tring and will work my absolute hardest. For those of you who have had dd's in the 2011-2012 audition season you will know just how hard it has been to just get an offer. I will see where this all takes me and keep you posted :)

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All schools including the MADE schools have characters in them that have the potential to make others miserable and dispondent - thats just life, regretable i know, but sadly true!

 

Good communication is key to helping vocational students and their supporting parents feel as if they have been treated fairly, particuarly when the news on progress or capability is not positive. Clearly if the school is deliberately withholding important information until the start of term as to which type of training a student is allowed to access then that smacks of sharp practice, as it clearly robs students and parents the opportunity to debate and consider the options available to them, including the option to considering auditioning for another school/s in a timely way.

 

I would recommend that formally complaining about the flawed process should be the real focuss here, rather than the alleged poor communication style of the messenger? Look at the schools policies, procedures, teachers, Parent Governors & Governors for help in how to communicate the dissatisfaction that this unfortunate process is causing and try to raise your voice as parents in a constructive way.

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Hi, It's the first time I've posted on here and I really enjoy reading all the articles and advice etc, however following the "ballet school ranking " debate, I'm wondering if anyone has positive information regarding Tring, as according to Ofsted it is an outstanding school, infact the ONLY outstanding vocational school, so surely there must be some quality teaching going on there ?

Hi Margot. You may like to know that my DS had the pick of all the major schools bar RBS (and even then he was told at the end of year 11 he stood a good chance if he reauditioned). He has absolutely no regrets about choosing Tring at all. The dance teaching is indeed excellent and he also managed to get three good A levels as well as the diploma. More importantly he has become a much more rounded dancer-I would not have thought when he left WL for example that he'd get to the final round of a DV8 audition! He is now performing professionally and I honestly put this down to the hard work of really lovely, dedicated dance teachers. Some have been to see him dance professionally and I know that they also support other ex students in this way too.

 

My DS chose Tring because he wasn't sure which way to turn after year 11 - he needed to go somewhere where he could explore options and found that after a year, Tring had reignited his passion for performing dance. After 2 years he was a International Cecchetti finalist (out of the British schools Tring had the highest proportion of their entrants through by the way) and his ex WL teachers who were there were not only extremely impressed with the progress he'd made but with the other Tring students too.

 

BallerinaX you are absolutely right in your observation that it is up to the student to take from it what you will- I will offer the same advice as I did to DS and that is to make it work for you. If anything is not right then don't be scared, talk to the teachers. And it is so much better if they hear it from the students first. Incidently when DS did have a blip, the head of dance was one of the first to express concern. They actually wondered whether DS wanted to go elsewhere and offered help!

 

Now I too have had good cause to complain (and have done so with positive results!) but I know people at all the main vocational schools who have had shall we say, less than satisfactory experiences from time to time.You WILL get them,wherever you train. Don't let these get you down, face them directly, learn from them and stay 100% focussed on YOUR chosen path.

 

I see Tring dance students as versatile and, thanks to their all round training able to consider a variety of work. These dancers can actually move. I am afraid that I can't say that about about some students that I've recently seen elsewhere who are really limited to just pure classical ballet and there are precious few jobs wanting just that now.

 

However I would say to anyone out there who has their heart absolutely on just ballet, then think twice about Tring as other establishments will probably suit you better.

 

There you go Margot I hope that has redressed the balance a little! Congratulations to you and Lildancer and anyone else who have got places at Tring, go, work hard and enjoy yourselves.

 

It can't be that bad as two ex students from my local dance schools are staying for a third year having worked very very hard from being in "lower" sets to start with and non funded at that. They are now both funded and in sets of their choice through sheer, polite fighting and proven ability to knuckle down and become the best dancers that they could possibly be.

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Opportunities for boys wanting classical are very very different for boys at Tring. I have two daughters one of which went to White Lodge who was still denied a whole range of classical opportunities by the dance director even though her fab ballet teachers at Tring disagreed. Since moving on she has danced with a professional ballet company as one of the main cygnets in Swan Lake. It was definitely personal at Tring as we insisted on a meeting to challenge dance directors decisions. My daughter also attained higher RAD results than some in the 'classical Set'

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hfbrew it is really nice to hear positive feedback, even for those of us who have felt less positive about some aspects of the school. It is so nice to hear that your son has been succesful in his chosen career. I am always glad when children are doing well and are able to flourish and be rewarded for their hard work. My daughter is a very very hard worker, this is recognised by all the lovely teachers who have taught her both dance and accademic, she has put everything into her chosen career, even giving up her personal time to get some extra coaching. She cannot be knocked for giving a 100% for her love of ballet, the expression you only get out what you put in and glass half full etc is rather annoying to those children who have put in everything. As far as I am concerned funding or not, we are still paying for a service, so frankly I want my cup more than half full thankyou. Like I said and agree with hfbrew, the teachers are dedicated, but they do not get listened to by a certain member of staff. So if a teacher says that a certain child is doing exceptionaly well in this area, this other teacher will have already made her decision and usually will not be swayed. I could actually say a lot of things that have happened but I won't because that would not be fair, and that is not what this forum is for either. My daughter was in one of the good sets, and thank goodness her teacher was always there to pick her up, when she was given a further knock back by this member of staff. The dance teacher are absolutely lovely, I cannot stress this enough, they do pick the kids up when they are down, but sometimes the expression comes to mind 'all stick no carrot'. hfbrew has given some very sound advice about communicating if there are any issues (we did). I hope the children who go to Tring and any of the other schools are exceptionaly happy as it is a wonderful achievement. What has come out of this thread is that it is not all roses in the garden, but it is how you are going to deal with it if situations do arise. I believe that I have said quite a few positive comments regarding Tring, but I have also told the truth about some areas that I have experienced. I will also add that I have been very careful not to name individuals.

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Well our experience of vocational schools was probably no different than regular schools - ups and down. Its just the ups seemed higher and the downs seemed lower.

 

I remember a headteacher explaining to me whilst I was looking around primary schools that "every school has bullies - it's how the school deals with them that is important". This phrase has stuck with me and I believe it is the same of all problems. I dont expect a school to be perfect, part of growing up is learning how to cope with difficulties and learning how to compromise - it is how the school communicate with all the parties and successful resolve issues which are the most important.

 

Yes looking at school policies etc., is a good start but there is no way of knowing how well they are implemented. Ofsted reports are a guide but not an absolute. All I wanted from a school was honesty and for them to implement the rules and policies they wrote - my local comprehensive can manage that, I didnt think I was asking too much!

 

If you have an opporutnity to take up a place at a vocational school then see how it goes - just dont feel a failure if you decide its not for you. I think there is a lot of pressure to stay at these schools once they have worked so hard to gain a place. Its been great to have had the opportunity to see both sides of the coin, I think until you have had that chance its difficult to live with rejection from an audition and not feel as if you are missing out.

 

Its not often schools receive negative comments on this forum and I do think that this can paint an unrealistic picture in peoples heads that these schools are all faultless and we start to see them as shrines - they are great schools but I'm sure all have their faults. If I had my time over then I wouldn't of sent my daughter away but she was so focussed. enthusiastic and so so determined at that time there is no way I could have kept her home without her feeling regretful towards me and the decision. She has now lived through the experience (even though it was cut short) and she now confesses if she knew then what she knows now she wouldnt have gone away, her only regret is not leaving earlier.

 

To all the new September starters enjoy the adventure everyone will have a different experience.

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So, what do we do then, if a dd/ds auditions for all the 'big' ones, and is offered only Tring?

When my DD was auditioning for a Year 7 place, she only auditioned for RBS WL and Elmhurst as she wanted to concentrate on ballet. She also knew that if she was lucky to get offered a place at either of these 2 schools, she could only go if she got funding. We were very naive at the time of auditioning and to be honest I am grateful that we were. I only ticked the 'be considered for WL' box on her JA to MA form because everyone else in her class did, as I didn't think she would stand a chance of getting into the school. How wrong was I????????

 

I would say, be realistic, it's not the end of the World if they don't get into the school they want to as you can always re-audition. So keep training at your local school and/or JA's MA's or SA's and audition for sixth form. If they have the talent then they will be successful, but our DDs and DSs will take different routes to achieve this success. :)

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If our dd was offered an MDS place at Tring, she would make our lives sheer hell if we turned it down!

 

Many of us will never have the luxury of being able to choose our preferred school, let alone be able to afford the fees.

 

I dare say that fee-payers who have chosen one school over another might well be somewhat critical and wish they had chosen differently, but that is human nature, isn't it? The grass is always greener...

 

We would consider ourselves exceptionally fortunate if our dd was offered an MDS place anywhere.

 

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Free up a few places, and give the rest of us a chance.

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I'd like to echo BallerinaX - Employment!! If graduates from RBS Upper School can't get work in UK ballet companies (roughly 2-3 graduates going into the Royal Ballet Company each year I'm told) and are having to move abroad to make some kind of a living, then surely having training in other diciplines such as jazz and tap, give Tring Park it's strength.

 

After all the hard work that these children have put in over the years, they need to be able to make a living from their vocational training. If they've only trained in classical ballet, that's the only auditions they can attend. If they've trained in all diciplines as well as being beautiful classical dancers, they can audition for West End musicals, Pop videos, Band tours, Contemporary companies etc. etc.

 

For us Tring offers the training for a talented dancer to be able to actually make a living from all their training, instead of the hash reality of living back at home with their parents for long periods of time waiting for auditions for ballet company places, whilst still having their parents paying for daily classes at Danceworks etc. plus travel to London, to keep them in peek condition for the auditions when the do come along.

 

Unless your dd is so exceptional that a place in a top ballet company is a certainty (in which case they will be at RBS, YDA or Elmhurst most likely) I think the chance to divercify and broaden their horizons to actually be able to have a dance career other than just classical, at places like Tring or Hammond, should be seen as a fantastic opportunity.

Edited by atacrossroads
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There's nothing to say that you HAVE to audition for all of the "big four". Just as there's nothing to say that the only route to a classical ballet career is to get a place at 11 at Vocational School.

 

There are many roads to Rome...

 

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I think perhaps I'm just a bit tired of hearing people complaining about what they do have when there are so many who don't ,and who would give their eye-teeth to be able to take their place.

 

But I think the point of those "complaining" is to illustrate that the grass isnt always greener and perhaps those children who dont get the opporutnity shouldnt feel so hard-done-by.

 

Its a different experience for everyone and if you havent had the opporutnity it it is also unfair to be so harsh on those of have have tried to be open and honest rather than just saying everything is just peachy and perhaps giving a false impression on their experience.

 

If you want people to be open and honest then you must expect to hear good and bad - everyone will have a different experience.

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If our dd was offered an MDS place at Tring, she would make our lives sheer hell if we turned it down!

 

Many of us will never have the luxury of being able to choose our preferred school, let alone be able to afford the fees.

 

I dare say that fee-payers who have chosen one school over another might well be somewhat critical and wish they had chosen differently, but that is human nature, isn't it? The grass is always greener...

 

We would consider ourselves exceptionally fortunate if our dd was offered an MDS place anywhere.

 

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Free up a few places, and give the rest of us a chance.

 

I agree that a funded place at any of the "big four" is an amazing achievement.

 

However.....if your child was truly unhappy after a few years' training at a school, perhaps ignored by a member of staff, picked on, streamed into an area they did not want to pursue, and you found that even after following the proper channels of communication there was nothing that could be done to change matters, you may feel differently about whether the grass is greener.

 

This is just an example; I'm not making allegations here. I can see why you feel the way you do. But people's opinions of things they have experienced and people they have encountered are valid. Forewarned is forearmed, after all.

 

I'm hoping that future intakes of pupils at our Vocational Schools all have happy and fulfilling experiences. But thanks to this forum, at least parents know which issues COULD possibly arise, which hopefully makes the passage - and the communications process - easier.

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I have found reading about everbody's experiences, both good and bad, very enlightening; I also agree that everyone wants the best for their children, and should fight their corner should the need arise.

 

Forewarned is forearmed.

 

The thing is, you don't accept a gift horse, look it in the mouth, and then complain about it's age, or colour, or that you don't have a cart for it to pull.

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I have found reading about everbody's experiences, both good and bad, very enlightening; I also agree that everyone wants the best for their children, and should fight their corner should the need arise.

 

Forewarned is forearmed.

 

The thing is, you don't accept a gift horse, look it in the mouth, and then complain about it's age, or colour, or that you don't have a cart for it to pull.

 

True. But if said horse doesn't work for you despite your very best efforts, you don't have to keep it....or like it!

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as I have posted before - and so probably will anoy people - there are over 300 parents of the vocational dance schools views that could count and on here you will hear the views of a minority of those voices (mine included).

 

I feel very uncomfortable reading criticisms of individuals or circumstances as has been seen on this section of the forum at the moment.

 

Of course, I don't need to read them, so maybe it's time for me to say 'I'll be off then' from 'doing dance'.

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Taxi4ballet, I don't understand what you are saying. Do you mean that if you have funding then you should put up and shut up? We are all here to give support to each other, usually drawn on experience. People are clever enough to make their own decisions, but a lot of people will appreciate hearing about other peoples experiences, the expression forwarned etc. Is your child already at vocational school, so therefore you understand where all of us are coming from? I do not want to argue on the forum as that is not my intention. We have all shared a view (quite a few of us infact), we didn't have to make the time to do this, but we did, just so that we could forwarn other parents who may encounter similar problems. Lots of good things have been highlighted about this school.

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Taxi4ballet, I don't understand what you are saying. Do you mean that if you have funding then you should put up and shut up? We are all here to give support to each other, usually drawn on experience. People are clever enough to make their own decisions, but a lot of people will appreciate hearing about other peoples experiences, the expression forwarned etc. Is your child already at vocational school, so therefore you understand where all of us are coming from? I do not want to argue on the forum as that is not my intention. We have all shared a view (quite a few of us infact), we didn't have to make the time to do this, but we did, just so that we could forwarn other parents who may encounter similar problems. Lots of good things have been highlighted about this school.

 

I suppose what I am trying to say, is that IMHO people with funding might be more likely to take the rough with the smooth, than if they were paying for it.

 

If this thread was about another school, the Royal for instance, people would say,' OMG your dd/ds is at the Royal Ballet School and you are actually complaining about it?!!! Don't you know how lucky you are? Don't you realise how many people there are who wish with every breath in their body that they were in your shoes?"

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as I have posted before - and so probably will anoy people - there are over 300 parents of the vocational dance schools views that could count and on here you will hear the views of a minority of those voices (mine included).

 

I feel very uncomfortable reading criticisms of individuals or circumstances as has been seen on this section of the forum at the moment.

 

Of course, I don't need to read them, so maybe it's time for me to say 'I'll be off then' from 'doing dance'.

Stirrups, don't you dare go, please!! I think your point about that its only the views of a minority on here is very valid, as you say there are many vocational parents who don't even know about ballet.co!

 

Please everyone, Margot specifically asked for positive experiences which is why I posted mine earlier. Its been fairly obvious from several threads that some people have good cause to be unsatisfied which Margot has clearly already read and taken on board.She and other students on this forum lucky enough to be going to Tring are already at an advantage as they will be going with their eyes open! As with all the schools my DS has attended, we too have had issues with Tring but I for one wanted to keep to the positives that Margot specifically asked for.

 

So Margot and any others going to Tring, are you by any chance going to see the Tring dance show? If you are going to the one at Shaw Theatre I do hope I see you and say hello! My DS is only on for about 3 minutes but I've really enjoyed watching all of these talented students. I will be watching you next year as I will still have some very happy female students that I know there!

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Perhaps it is time to lock this thread, emotions are beginning to run high and people may say things that can come across wrong in written form. We are all hear to support each other and we are all friends, so enough is enough I don't want stirrups to leave.

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Actually thought that particular show was better than last years but then I would as my DS did loads that year.! This year there seem to be more, shorter, pieces with many large groups so that lots of dancers get their chance to perform.

 

Naturally I loved watching my DS but all of the students are great to watch!

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