Dream maker Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Hello all, I am looking for a little help and advice. My 11 year old has been offered places at Hammond on the dancing course and Italia Conti and we now have a tough decision to make. She has had a number of amateur dramatic parts, performed in singing competitions and of course enjoys her dancing. At this age she is yet to decide if she wants to follow a performing or dancing direction. So I have a question to anyone who has experience of either of the two schools. Hammond - the course focuses on dance, does anyone know if there are any options to have additional lessons or weekend acting/drama clubs and the same for singing to compliment her dancing course. Italia Conti - they do not directly offer boarding facilities and this will be a prerequisite to accepting a place. This may be a question for parents of those at the school who may know of contacts but does anyone know of any boarding options, the only one the school are aware of is full and we are on a waiting list. Ideally we would like one that drops off each day or if not, that are within a short distance of the school and have others of a similar age that go to Italia Conti. As you can imagine, having an 11 year old travelling on the underground on her own is our biggest concern. Please help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circe Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Hi dream maker, someone on the forum may be able to advise though perhaps also try notapushymum forum too, if haven't already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dream maker Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thanks chaperone for your quick reply, I have registered with notapushymum but await my account activation before I can post on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs G Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 My DS is in yr 10 at the Hammond and has been there since year 7. He eventually would like to continue down the musical theatre route. He studies all forms of dance and has a private weekly singing lesson and is about to take his grade 8 in June. The school is wonderful and will support and encourage whatever is your child's strength. He is currently undertaking GCSE in drama and I believe this rounded training is a great foundation for his future.The end of year show and musical theatre productions that are put on at the Hammond are absolutely fantastic. The teaching is amazing and the boarding staff are lovely.The sixth form at the school do have a musical theatre course. Unfortunately I do not know of extra weekend drama classes etc as DS wouldn't have time as they have ballet on a Saturday morning !!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Hammond Although your DD has been accepted onto the dance strand she will still get a weekly drama and a weekly vocal technique class. There is also the Junior Choir. I know there are optional extras of a Youth Theatre Group and singing lessons but do not know if these are available to all years. I am sure someone will be along to give further information for the lower school. I can tell you that students leaving year 11(dance strand) go onto classical ballet, dance or musical theatre courses for sixth form, either at the Hammond or elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAIRBELLES Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Hi Dreammaker I have a dd in yr9 and my elder dd left last year after 5 yrs in Hammond Lower School . She is now training at Bird college . I feel sure she would not have gained her place there without the all round training she received at the Hammond. I cannot really add much more to the above posts if there is anything specific you would like to know feel free to pm me . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I've got a musical theatre mad dd in year 7 at Hammond. Feel free to on me for more info too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 At the induction day the music teacher announced that Hammond is a 'Singing School'. There are lots of opportunities for singing. You can sign up for individual singing lessons and/or LAMDA lessons. There is a weekly drama class, weekly vocal technique plus junior choir. There is a bi-annual musical theatre production too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dream maker Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thank you everyone, this really helpfully information. I would be very interested to know more about the extra LAMDA lessons, are these done outside of school hours or within the school day and if so are other lessons missed. Once again thanks to all of you for taking your time to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regattah Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I agree with all the comments above about Hammond, which we are really happy with for our DD. The only thing that I have been less pleased with over the years is the amount of drama available. Like you, my DD also loves to act and we weren't initially sure which way she was going to go. I do feel there is more singing than drama available to the dancers in years 7-9, however I think that it is less of an issue to pick up focus on drama later (unlike dance where there definitely is a limited timeframe to develop). Now she is in year 10 she does far more as she does Drama GCSE and of course has it with the top-notch teachers that teach the Drama strand students. Until this year she has been having one lesson per week (also with the drama specialist teachers, just to be clear). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfbrew Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Drama, I feel can be picked up later whereas if there is a chance that a student could make a career as a dancer, whether classical or musical theatre then Id go with the course that has the strongest dance training for now. Ds is very keen on acting which is one reason why he chose to finish his training at Tring where he got top marks for Theatre Arts A level. Prior to that he had only group drama classes as part of the WL curriculum. Guess what I am saying that I agree with Regattahs point above that it is less of an issue to pick up on drama focus later. But I am biaised towards Hammond anyway being an ex student there! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legseleven Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 (edited) I agree that dance needs to be a focus in the earlier years, whereas drama and singing can be developed later. To be honest I also feel that either you can act or you can't - and either you can sing or you can't - and whereas professional training in both drama and singing does always help, it can be delayed to concentrate on dance training. And yes, I think some people are natural dancers and some aren't, just as I believe that acting and singing come naturally or not, but dance requires specific training as early as possible. If Hammond concentrates on singing to the detriment of drama in the early years, I think this is the correct way to do it as proper training in vocal techniques and breathing for singers will also assist in speech training for actors. Edited April 26, 2014 by Legseleven 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dream maker Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 Thank you everyone for all of your help, clearly informed comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Re: LAMDA lessons. As far as I know they are held during the normal school day, singing & instrumental lessons certainly are. This is common in most schools. They can't be fine after school as school doesn't finish until 6pm and they do 3 hours on Saturday morning too. They are done on a rota so they don't miss the same lesson all the time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dream maker Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Once again thank you for all your replies, your comments have helped enormously to make what we are now sure is the right decision for our dd to go to The Hammond (her decision as much as ours) in September. She will be starting year 7 on the dance course and boarding and it would be fantastic to hear from anyone else on the same course starting year 7. One very happy family. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Congratulations to your DD. I hope she is very happy there. I'm sure she will be. I think if you have a search through some of the threads on lower school results and Hammond on the forum you might find others in your position - though of course they may see your post and contact you . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 A mum at ds's school was telling me of a neighbours dd who is starting in year 7 in September. She's going to pass my details on so if/when she gets in touch I'll direct her here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/6466-year-7-hammond-entry-sept-2014/?fromsearch=1 Also check this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spax Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Hello all, I am looking for a little help and advice. My 11 year old has been offered places at Hammond on the dancing course and Italia Conti and we now have a tough decision to make. She has had a number of amateur dramatic parts, performed in singing competitions and of course enjoys her dancing. At this age she is yet to decide if she wants to follow a performing or dancing direction. So I have a question to anyone who has experience of either of the two schools. Hammond - the course focuses on dance, does anyone know if there are any options to have additional lessons or weekend acting/drama clubs and the same for singing to compliment her dancing course. Italia Conti - they do not directly offer boarding facilities and this will be a prerequisite to accepting a place. This may be a question for parents of those at the school who may know of contacts but does anyone know of any boarding options, the only one the school are aware of is full and we are on a waiting list. Ideally we would like one that drops off each day or if not, that are within a short distance of the school and have others of a similar age that go to Italia Conti. As you can imagine, having an 11 year old travelling on the underground on her own is our biggest concern. Please help. We live just around the corner from Italia Conti and the area is safe. My ds travelled the underground from Barbican to Shepherds Bush for a year and he was 11. Loads of children get off at the Barbican for school. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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