Happymum Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 My DD loved the first book in series so as her birthday present I bought her the following 4 - all about the girls in Year 7 at WL. Of course I did read the books myself and now I can't stop wondering how does it compare to reality? Does anyone who have/had children at WL and read the books would like to tell me? To me some stories are to good to be true ( all the support the school gives to children assessed out) Other information worries my DD - only 15 mins break between ballet class and academics - she would only be able to change her socks ( if that!) Of course I don't need details, and my DD may never be accepted at WL but We just generally would like to know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 It's been a long time since I read the books but I seem to remember thinking they were pretty close - I might have to get them out for a re-read. However, my son was assessed out around that time and we had no support from the school directly (although plenty of sympathy from individual members of staff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DancingPixie Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 My DS read them all before starting Y8. We found them pretty representative...but there is plenty of time to change between academics and dancing. We found a lot of pastoral support when we needed it, and also academic support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swanprincess Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I read these books, and absolutely loved them, to me they gave a real idea of what life at WL is like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I brought the first couple of these books when they first came out to try and encourage dd to read as she was a very reluctant reader ( found out many years later she is dyslexic) and she left them on the train on the way to JAs!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billyelliott Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 All i can say is that mt DS is at Elmhurst and definitely has a couple of days when there is only a 15 minute break between ballet and the next lesson ! His room reflects the rush to change , but then he is a boy...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outofmydepth Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I had never heard of these books before but have looked on amazon as they sound perfect for my daughter. Sadly they are no longer available in a lot of places does anybody have any copies they would be willing to sell on? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyG Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Try your local library to borrow them. My library still has some of the titles in stock. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audsjcanuck Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Oh I am so glad I am not the only mom to read those books! We aren't in the UK but have our equivalent school here that dd dreamed of getting into and I have to say the books were pretty close to things here too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happymum Posted September 15, 2013 Author Share Posted September 15, 2013 I had never heard of these books before but have looked on amazon as they sound perfect for my daughter. Sadly they are no longer available in a lot of places does anybody have any copies they would be willing to sell on? Thanks Yes, it looks like no one sells them any more. There is quite a lot of them on eBay. Just buy one from UK seller ( I ordered one from US - never arrived). One of the one I bought on eBay used to be a library book - looks like it might be hard to borrow it - there wasn't any in out library. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happymum Posted September 15, 2013 Author Share Posted September 15, 2013 Oh I am so glad I am not the only mom to read those books! We aren't in the UK but have our equivalent school here that dd dreamed of getting into and I have to say the books were pretty close to things here too. Oh yes! I read the books before I gave it to my DD! :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celb Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 My DD and I read the whole series including the American versions when she was a JA- the content was the same but some of the names were different. Unfortunately I lent them all to a fellow JA and never got them back. I know at Elmhurst there can be very little time between dance and academics.My DD usually keeps her tights on ,rolls them up and adds socks under her joggers as they usually also have evening dance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Dd says they have about 15 mins at Hammond to get changed (into full school uniform) & get to the next lesson. It co- incides with morning/afternoon break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happymum Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) Oh! So the 15 minutes break IS a reality! :-( well my DD is inspired to work even harder after reading the books ( though I thought she doesn't really need more inspiration!) so I hope she will also learn how to change clothes quickly, tidy her room quickly, eat her meal quickly etc etc I wish! Thank you for the information so far, still hope to hear from those who's children are at WL at the moment Edited September 16, 2013 by Happymum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Living the Dream Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Oh! So the 15 minutes break IS a reality! :-( well my DD is inspired to work even harder after reading the books ( though I thought she doesn't really need more inspiration!) so I hope she will also learn how to change clothes quickly, tidy her room quickly, eat her meal quickly etc etc I wish! Thank you for the information so far, still hope to hear from those who's children are at WL at the moment Hi Happymum, my DD was at WL for 5 years. From what I can remember Year 7 they had ballet class first thing, then a 30 minute morning break to get ready for academics. Year 8 it was academics first thing, then she got ready for ballet during the 30 minute break. Afternoon classes, they already had their hair done, so it was just a matter of changing clothes. In her latter years, when she had to do french rolls twice a week, she would get up at 6am to do her hair, so that it was ready for the classes during the day, intertwined with academics. Basically, your DD will need to be highly organised and tidy, to get through days at vocational school, but it's all worth it in the end. LTD 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 They only get about 5-10 minutes to get changed at normal schools for PE anyway. At dds school the girls have their hair in a bun all day on the whole. Occasionally dd has to tidy hers up a bit before ballet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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