Summer Schools for Vocational students

[tutoo2much]

Just wondered what other people thought. I can see that for young people who are not at vocational schools, summer schools can be valuable, there is an opportunity to meet like minded people, dance all day, maybe live away from home, measure their progress in comparison to others their own age and experience different teaching.

However I am wondering would students who do dance quite intensively be better off with a rest and are there benefits I hadn't thought about?

[meadowblythe]

Three that spring to mind:

 

Chance to meet a wide range of students - from different schools, those not in vocational training, different stages of training

 

Chance to dance with different teachers - what may not make sense with one teacher may with another, and different teachers stress different things

 

Chance to experience different dance styles outside the curriculum of the vocational school

 

However, don't forget you will need the vocational school's agreement for the student to attend.

 

Meadowblythe

[JulieW]

I agree with meadowblythe's comments, especially that it gives the students a chance to meet up with other students (they live in a very "small world" at their schools) and to dance under different teachers, and have a couple of extra points - one for and one against:

• The summer holidays are very long at vocational schools - 2 months off dance really does feel like too much
  
• My son really was never bothered about going to summer schools from years 7-11 (he went to one once) because he really just wanted to come home and rest - plus they are usually at the start of the holidays when we like to head off in the trailer tent for our usual walking holidays
  

And I do also sometimes feel a bit like perhaps we should leave the summer schools for the students who haven't got the opportunity to have the experience during the rest of the year (but I haven't quite made up my mind about that ). Especially if places are limited and vocational students might take up places that others can't then get.

 

Am I making sense......?

[Anna C]

Perfect sense Julie, I'm often of the same mind myself re. giving non-vocational students opportunities to do summer schools - but then I am slightly biased! ;-). (runs away)

[Pas de Quatre]

Summer schools (and Easter Courses) are really a good idea, both for Vocational students and those not yet at a Vocational school but intending to apply later (or again). Meadowblythe has summed up the different reasons very well.

[tutoo2much]

Do vocational students take places from non-vocational students? Besides WL, aren't most of the other schools run on a first come first served basis?

[Anna C]

No, I don't believe all Summer Schools are first come first served. DD was offered a place on ENBSs Summer School last year and we had to send several photos, a copy of the last exam report (if I remember rightly), and once the closing date had passed, they seemed to do a fairly extensive paper sift. Am I right in thinking that there are other schools/summer schools that do this?

[Dragonlady]

Places for summer schools are just like audition places in that there is no automatic entry for vocational students! You can still be rejected for a place at any summer school if the dancer in the photos (summer schools are usually based on these) are not what the school is looking for.

 

I don't want to weigh in about vocational students taking places other might have but as in all things...the people running the summer schools know what they are looking for and I am sure that if a non vocational dancer looked better than the vocational dancer then the summer school would choose accordingly...they want to see as many potential future candidates for their own schools/programmes as possible, why limit their potential to just the vocational students?

[Moneypenny]

I can see it from both sides ... before my dd went to vocational school, summer schools, nyb etc were a great opportunity to meet like minded individuals, make new friends, get seen and gain access to fantastic facilities and different teachers ... it's amazing what they can pick up in a week that will stay with them.

 

Now that dd is at vocational school all of the above still applies, but as JulieW says, two months off is a long time without any dancing and whilst it is important for growing bodies to get plenty of rest over the holidays to prevent future injury, once my dd has re-charged her batteries she starts going stir crazy over the summer if she can't dance!

 

dd usually finds that there is a good mix/balance of vocational and non-vocational students at summer schools.

[glowlight]

When my dd was younger and wasn't at vocational school herself, it appeared to me that some of the vocational students at summer schools struggled a bit because they were just so ready for a break after their long and intensive terms. Wheras the non-vocationals were rareing to go.

 

However I think that summer schools can be very valuable for post 16s in full time training - gives them a chance to measure themselves against others from other establishments, and train with different teachers in different styles. It also breaks up the very long summer break. Northern Ballet summer school used to give useful insights into how to apply for jobs, how to behave as a professional dancer, and how a company works, from both a business and artistic perspective.