Hammond Lower School Auditions for 2020

[Mummy twinkle toes]

We were for yr9 place if that helps.

I suspect bursary had changed as it hasn’t appeared on their website this last year.

I would assume that most schools will be tightening their belts at this time. We have family that work in private education and most are charging 50% of the fees this term so income for them is down.

[Farawaydancer]

42 minutes ago, Mummy twinkle toes said:

We were for yr9 place if that helps.

I suspect bursary had changed as it hasn’t appeared on their website this last year.

I would assume that most schools will be tightening their belts at this time. We have family that work in private education and most are charging 50% of the fees this term so income for them is down.

Hammond are still charging full fees. 

[Ellera]

I thought this might be helpful for those who have not received a letter yet.  My daughter was applying for year 7-it was a generic email to so maybe sent out to year 7 only??  With others years to follow?

 

This is cut and paste of the letter we received:

 

It was ccompanied by a financial form which requires alot of detail.

 

April 2020
 
Dear Parents
 
I hope you are your families are keeping safe and well in these unprecedented times.
 
The MDS awards I offered to applicants have now been accepted.  If any award is declined between now and the end of August, we will let eligible applicants know.
 
The Hammond finance team, in conjunction with the Dance panel are prepared to look at requests for some fee remission for the remaining applicants on the reserve list.  Please be aware that we do not have a scholarship or bursary fund so you would be making a considerable financial commitment were you to accept our offer of a place.
 
We will look at applicants primarily on their audition scores.  Only after the panel have assessed this, will our Finance team look at income to judge the amount of fee remission we can offer.
 
I am attaching a financial information form for your completion.  Please return this to me electronically as we do not have access to the regular post delivered to school.
 
Once the form is returned, I will pass it on to the team and will have no further part in the decision.
 
Please bear with the Team while they look at our applicants, we are working remotely and things are slightly less accessible than from within school.  Once they have made decisions, they will contact you and in the meantime, will be unable to answer individual queries.
 
I do understand the anxieties, especially for parents of children in Year 6 who need to make a decision about which school their child is attending for Year 7 onwards.  We will make our best efforts to advise you as soon as possible, but there are many people involved in each decision.
 
Kind regards
 
Denise Charles

 

Hope its of some use, E x

Edited April 23, 2020 by Ellera

[Mummy twinkle toes]

We got the same one x

[Miss Tutu]

Just received mine ,  I don't hold out much hope unfortunately  😪

[Milzmam]

Does anyone know whether this letter is the same as what previous years have received or whether it is different? Unfortunately dds dream seems to be slipping away 😥

[Peanut68]

That letter does seem strangely uninformstive detailing merely that it is a standard process that they will follow....

doesn’t  really offer any specific guidance or indication to families waiting. I do not know if this differs from previous years overall. I do recall the Bursary finance forms were very in depth, quite personally invasive & made one feel a little ‘second class citizen’ .... much more so than the government led MDS forms & info required. This did also vary slightly over the years...

What seems odd is the statement that they do not have a scholarship or bursary fund....so what are they calling the fee assistance & from what ‘pot’ of money will this be sourced from? Seems very unclear....names unfamiler to me (I know there have been lots of staff changes in all areas) 

I will say that time there was well worth it as were the family financial sacrifices & we have no regrets! 

Good luck to all awaiting decisions etc xx

[Mummy twinkle toes]

Yes, it is different. Previously with Dd1 you were asked to call. They gave feedback and told you where you were on reserve list. I completed in depth financial forms and then had a letter offering 50%. We were still on reserve for MDS too. This was  3 years ago though.

[SpinningBoy]

8 minutes ago, Mummy twinkle toes said:

Yes, it is different. Previously with Dd1 you were asked to call. They gave feedback and told you where you were on reserve list. I completed in depth financial forms and then had a letter offering 50%. We were still on reserve for MDS too. This was  3 years ago though.

Did you complete the forms after you learnt where you were on the reserve list? It would seem ideal to do it that way although the letter suggests completing the forms first? Have I read that wrong? I still haven't had an email yet. I'm now questioning if we've dropped off the list altogether!! 

[Mummy twinkle toes]

We filled it in before the funding audition. When you paid the £160 you then received. 
This time is different so not sure what to expect. I am sure you will receive it.

 

[Milzmam]

Has anyone not for year 7 received email?

[WrapsnBows]

No

[Mummy twinkle toes]

Yes, yr9

[Milzmam]

Is anyone else still waiting for email?

[SpinningBoy]

Yep. Still waiting 

[Milzmam]

I am such an impatient person and all this waiting is getting to me now! Hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying the sunshine x

[Flower]

Yes enjoying the sunshine thanks Milzmam 😎. Hope you get a happy result after your form filling x

[Pups_mum]

This is always a stressful time of year for parents and young people, and I think it is even worse this year because of everything else that is going on. But some basic truths remain, though they can be very hard to see when you are right in the thick of things.

There are many roads to Rome. And many destinations that are just as lovely as Rome that you may not have even thought of yet.

Yes, it is really, really, tough when your child has their heart set on a particular school at a particular time and it doesn't come to fruition, especially when they have got so tantalisingly close, but please don't see it as their dream being over. My DD is an adult now, and I have been posting on this board, and its predecessor, since she was failing to gain a JA place in year 6 I think. In that time I have lost count of the number of DCs who have reached Rome by a different route or who have discovered that despite being absolutely certain at 11 that they wanted to go to Rome above all else, Munich is really where their heart lies.....

If your child has been offered a place at this stage, even without funding, then they clearly have potential. There will be other years to try again, and then at 16 and even 18 whole worlds of new opportunities open up. I think that both in real life and online I know of far more young people who have taken the "scenic route" to their final destination than those who have joined their preferred school in year 7 and sailed through. Youngsters develop at different rates. Those who are "not quite there" at 11 may later pass those who look like they have everything going for them at the same age. Not to mention puberty - there are always winners and losers in that particular lottery. 

So taken some time to grieve for what cannot be today, and then look to tomorrow for what is still to come.

[Milzmam]

Thanks @Pups_mum

[WrapsnBows]

Am I right in seeing it is just year 8 and the boys then who havn’t heard anything back? 

[Miss Tutu]

we are year 9 and had the email this morning 

[Ellie]

2 hours ago, Pups_mum said:

This is always a stressful time of year for parents and young people, and I think it is even worse this year because of everything else that is going on. But some basic truths remain, though they can be very hard to see when you are right in the thick of things.

There are many roads to Rome. And many destinations that are just as lovely as Rome that you may not have even thought of yet.

Yes, it is really, really, tough when your child has their heart set on a particular school at a particular time and it doesn't come to fruition, especially when they have got so tantalisingly close, but please don't see it as their dream being over. My DD is an adult now, and I have been posting on this board, and its predecessor, since she was failing to gain a JA place in year 6 I think. In that time I have lost count of the number of DCs who have reached Rome by a different route or who have discovered that despite being absolutely certain at 11 that they wanted to go to Rome above all else, Munich is really where their heart lies.....

If your child has been offered a place at this stage, even without funding, then they clearly have potential. There will be other years to try again, and then at 16 and even 18 whole worlds of new opportunities open up. I think that both in real life and online I know of far more young people who have taken the "scenic route" to their final destination than those who have joined their preferred school in year 7 and sailed through. Youngsters develop at different rates. Those who are "not quite there" at 11 may later pass those who look like they have everything going for them at the same age. Not to mention puberty - there are always winners and losers in that particular lottery. 

So taken some time to grieve for what cannot be today, and then look to tomorrow for what is still to come.

Very well said Pups_mum. I believe that this piece by Isabella Gasparini has been posted on the forum already, but it's worth sharing again. Best wishes to you all. Hold tight ! x

https://www.thedancepsychologist.com/blog/2020/4/20/trust-the-road-less-travelled-my-journey-to-the-royal-ballet

[Mummy twinkle toes]

Thanks for posting. I have told both dds to read.

[Karen]

This comment is not coming from any ‘insider knowledge base, but if my child had been offered a place without MDS funding, I would contact the school in question and, regardless of any information previously given about potential fee support,  ask what they could do at this time for my child.

 

Over the 8 years that my dd has been a full time vocational pupil I have heard of many families who have asked questions, challenged decisions, asked for audition tapes to be reconsidered, negotiated payments etc etc and received a response that was different from the first one.

 

I know that not everyone will achieve their desired outcome, but if you don’t ask, you don’t know, and it might make a difference. We are in unprecedented times, and I think that decisions could be made by schools which might surprise and delight some families, but the schools might need a ‘helping hand’ to think about specific individual situations.

 

Good luck to all who are hoping for places. 

[Eowyn]

As a parent with a child in Y11 at The Hammond I have been reading this thread with interest. Communication has never been the school’s strong point and unfortunately current pupils haven’t been treated much better which has caused a lot of distress to families over the past few weeks.  Funding Finals for upper school were cancelled due to the current situation and therefore awards were allocated based on results from the first audition. Those who were lucky enough to get an award received an email from the school to tell them the good news, but the rest of the year group have not received anything. No letter, no email, just an assumption that if they didn’t get a letter they haven’t been successful. Furthermore only a handful of awards have been given to the current Y11 and the rest to outside applicants.  It therefore seems loyalty to their own pupils is no longer a priority either and most of the Y11’s who have trained at the school for 5 years will now be forced to take up places elsewhere.  I am aware that this is no different to other vocational schools, but Hammond has always been so compassionate and felt more accessible than the other schools, especially with the generous bursaries they offered. Now I sadly feel it’s changed significantly and money is a big driver.

To those of you who have not received funding please please don’t give up. Your child must be talented to have been offered a place at all and there are so many other paths to achieve their dream 

[Milzmam]

9 hours ago, Karen said:

This comment is not coming from any ‘insider knowledge base, but if my child had been offered a place without MDS funding, I would contact the school in question and, regardless of any information previously given about potential fee support,  ask what they could do at this time for my child.

 

Over the 8 years that my dd has been a full time vocational pupil I have heard of many families who have asked questions, challenged decisions, asked for audition tapes to be reconsidered, negotiated payments etc etc and received a response that was different from the first one.

 

I know that not everyone will achieve their desired outcome, but if you don’t ask, you don’t know, and it might make a difference. We are in unprecedented times, and I think that decisions could be made by schools which might surprise and delight some families, but the schools might need a ‘helping hand’ to think about specific individual situations.

 

Good luck to all who are hoping for places. 

Thanks, gives some hope to all us waiting xx

[Milzmam]

Fingers crossed we all get some news this week. Hope everyone is staying safe xx

[Danceintherain]

Sorry to hear so many of you are having an agonising wait.  In these unprecedented times, it all makes it so much harder.  Sadly, Hammond have never had many MDSs so the majority of children who attend won't have one.  It's harsh, but sadly the reality.  Hammond do (or used to - I'm not privy to current provisions) have generous bursaries, but times do change, and the lockdown will be having a huge impact on everyone.  This isn't because they are uncaring - far from it.  In my experience, Hammond is a fantastic school and look after their students very well.  This is an expensive route for anyone (MDS or not), but it isn't the only route.  If it doesn't happen this year, for whatever reason, it is not the end of the road.  DC can still do incredibly well with local and associate training, and their time will come.  My DD didn't start vocational school until Y10, and even then we were comfortable that she may need to wait until upper school age.  We're all in this for the long run, and there are many more opportunities to come.  In the meantime, I hope you have some information soon so you can all make some decisions.  I don't believe a lack of communication on where DC are on reserve lists are specific to Hammond though, other schools are not sharing this information either (lower and upper schools), and whilst all schools are having to build a new way of providing learning to existing students, some processes for the new intake will be delayed.  Again, not because they don't care, but because they first and foremost have a duty to provide education to their current students.  And I have to say that Hammond are doing a fantastic job with this.  If you are fortunate enough to have a child start there in September, they will very much be looked after, and I cannot recommend the school enough.  Waiting is horrendous, and I do understand, but this isn't the end for anybody's DC, and I speak from our own personal experiences.  Take care all. x

[Flower]

Thank you Danceintherain

[SpinningBoy]

Does anyone know if anyone received an MDS in years 8, 9 and 10???? Or did they all go to year 7?

[WrapsnBows]

Not what I’ve seen 

12 minutes ago, SpinningBoy said:

Does anyone know if anyone received an MDS in years 8, 9 and 10???? Or did they all go to year 7?

 

[Milzmam]

1 hour ago, SpinningBoy said:

Does anyone know if anyone received an MDS in years 8, 9 and 10???? Or did they all go to year 7?

I would be really interested to know this aswell. I have only heard of year 7 I think on this forum

[Mummy twinkle toes]

I only heard of yr 7 so far