Ballet Exam

peachyprice

It's not that unusual for a ballet exam to be in school time. I would say 50% of all those my DD has taken have been so. If she's following the RAD syllabus it's not the ballet school who set the dates, its the Academy, the school can request a certain range of dates, but they then have to take what is given.

My DD's school have always been most supportive of her taking exams in school time as they consider them to be of benefit to the child and we've always received lovely letters from the head wishing her luck and a follow-up as to how well she did and she gets to show her certificate in assembly.

At the age of 5 there's NOTHING she will be doing in half a day of school that you cannot catch up with.

And remember, as she progresses through the grades the exams will give her UCAS points.

daska

It's not widely known but music and dance qualifications can gain you UCAS points for your university application. It's not a significant amount unless you get to the higher grades but worth considering. I think a distinction in grade 8 is equivalent to about a D at A level.

lauroar

When I was at school, I took ballet, tap and jazz/modern exams from age 5 - 18 and as far as I can remember (6+ years ago now) they were all in school time. I wasn't dancing at a high level or competitively, I think it was just the norm to have them in school time. I think one of my friend's parent who was a SAHM used to take us (as thinking about it now, I imagine it would be inconvenient for working parents!). As well as this I has an hours music lesson in school time every week, plus music exams and I played hockey which involved leaving school an hour or so early if we had an away match in the week! I think the school encouraged extra-curricular activities though as I don't remember any of it being a problem.

ognum

glitter03 wrote: »

Well i had a look and no she doesn't break up from school till the 30th March so the exam will be in term time.







Maybe not to you but Poppyoscar is correct in that she would not be able to progress beyond Grade 1 without it.




Thankyou everyone for your help

I was not trying to be unpleasant I was simply asking as I have not heard of them!

POPPYOSCAR

ognum wrote: »

I was not trying to be unpleasant I was simply asking as I have not heard of them!

I don't think you were trying to be unpleasant.

I suppose some people might consider things such as ballet and dance classes as a 'fun' thing that children do after school/weekends.

Whilst it may be for some, others do take it quite seriously, and yes exams can be important for various reasons. My daughter although still going down the academic route wants a career in dancing and needs to have grade 6 standard in order to take 'A' level dance at sixth form college.

Madmel

I agree with the poster who stated that the exams are set by the RAD. In the 9 years my DDs have been doing RAD ballet, they have always been in school time, and the schools in question have always been fine about them.

On the other hand, the IDTA are happy to send examiners at the weekends, so tap, disco, Irish and ballroom are held on a Sunday in our dance school.

I second the advice about your DD taking in her certificate to school. If it is the pre-primary grade, I think they get the certificate there and then, so she can go straight back to school with it.

Our school [I teach there and DD1 is a pupil] is pretty good about dance exams, but as we have a special visit from the ABRSM for music exams, parents are encouraged to add their children to the list, even if they don't have their lesson in school. They only miss the lesson that the exam takes place in, and generally it's only a part of the lesson anyway. If the pupil has to travel into the city for the exam, it's 45 minutes+ each way, so it takes most of a morning or afternoon.

Finally, it is true that music and dance exam success carries UCAS points. DD1 is only 12 but has grade 6 on one instrument and is working for grade 6 in ballet, both of which carry UCAS points. The skills demonstrated to attain these qualifications are highly prized by universities and often demonstrate those attributes much prized by employers. Good luck to the young lady taking the exam.

Student_Mrs

Memory_Girl wrote: »

Asked my BF (Headteacher) and his reaction was pretty surprising to me BTW. (My DS1 had exams and he was allowed out of school to do them)

He said that they always encourage kids to do ballet and work with the local dance school as it teaches them a whole bunch of "Educational lessons" that the current system doesn't really cater for.

Responsibility for dance equipment (dance school is hot on "no kit - no class")
Personal hygiene (Clean with neat and tidy hair and nails)
Discipline (The Teacher is known to be "Strict" - certainly kids do what they are instructed to do or lose the "right" of attending the classes)
Time keeping (late kids don't get in until a break in the class)

and then he pointed out all the other stuff - like sticking with something difficult until it easier to do, moving in a slow and steady manor helps with co-ordination issues, moving to music increases maths skills, social interaction with peers not in same class, progress dependant on merit and not being automatic.

So he would rather "lose" a kid for a couple of hours a year for exams than have the kid who didn't dance but stayed at home, played computer games and missed on the "other educational stuff"

Opened my eyes I can tell you - what a great guy that he recognises that school is not the be all and end all and that sometimes "other" situations can provide the missing links of education.

I have had an education this morning I can tell you LOL

MG

Love this! I've spotted a few balletomanes and ballet mums on here but this post is spot on.

I started dancing, again, late. From 6-8 then 14+ and have a dance degree (First Class, yay) and am now training to be a dance teacher in high schools and colleges. This is post 16 but I'm also teaching early years in the private sector. I had time off for ballet and music exams when I was in GCSE time and AS's and stayed at school for sixth form college. I was still able to use my exams for UCAS, and in the personal statement as I was applying for Dance. I have also used my perseverance for exams in job interviews, especially when talking about improving own learning and performance.

I am very biased, of course, but I find it refreshing to see positive parents. Yes, dance takes a huge investment in time and money but gives so much back. Best of luck to all of you, and I'm happy to answer any dance college/dance related q's.

Janepig

I hardly think that the child is going to fail her GCSE's because she missed an hour's school to do a ballet exam at the age of four now is she? Where's the roll-eyes smiley when you need it!

DD is 8 and she took part in a cheerleading competition last year which was on the weekend, but as it was in Birmingham they travelled up late on Friday morning, so she had the day off school, with the headteacher's blessing.

Hopefully, OP, if your child's school is anything like DD/DS's school, when she passes her exam and I assume gets a certificate, she can take it to school and go up on stage with it in assembly. All manner of achievements are celebrated in DD/DS's school, and as others have pointed out, education doesn't just happen behind the school doors, children are learning different skills all the time in all the activities they do.

Jx

star65

Both my daughters have had several dance exams (ballet and tap) and all have been during school time and all absences have been authorised by the school. The dance teacher issued a letter fro the school confirming the exam and time off was no problem. As another poster has said, the girls were able to show their dance certificates in school assembly as well.

Good luck to your daughter!

kingfisherblue

Not dance, but my son had a day off last year that was classed as 'educational'. I had asked for one day holiday because we were travelling to an outdoor pursuits activity centre with a group. The coach was leaving late morning. The centre is designed for disabled people and several families were going.

One son, who is disabled, was granted a day holiday. My other son, who has no disabilities, was granted the day off as 'educational' and the absence was authorised for this reason. I was very surprised, as I didn't realise that children could have absences authorised for this reason. Also, it was three weeks into the school year and my son had only just joined the school.