Tring Park Theatre Arts Course

[Missella88]

Hi, Just need some quick and solid advice.Ds has been a boarding place for year 7 entry onto the theatre arts course. Scholarship audition but no award which was half expected due to the fact that if we scrimp, save & stretch ourselves to the limit for the next 7 years then we will just about be able to cover the fees. He wants to go but is really worried about boarding. None of his elder siblings have boarded before so he will be the first in the family. The dilema is either Tring with huge fees to pay and his fear of boarding or local Secondary which is Outstanding but non-arts based and therefore no opportunity for creative development whatsoever. They have gone so far as to remove drama from the curriculum. They also have a blanket refusal policy on absence from school for creative pursuits of which he has done quite a bit of prifessional work already including a national tour so I am so confused. He currently attends a good Theatre School at the weekend as is part of their agency. Any help is greatfully received abd currently urgent. Many thanks

[2dancersmum]

I don't envy you that choice and I can't really give you much advice as it really will be a personal choice and I don't know your son or your family. So just some things to think about - write lists of for and against if it helps and make sure you find time to sit down with your partner and talk things through.

Boarding - you say for year 7 - its only natural that he would be scared, especially if first in the family to do so. However, for year 7 I think you would find that all the other year 7s are new to boarding also so he would not be alone and I am sure the boarding staff and pastoral care team at Tring would be used to helping with any problems in settling in and homesickness. But you know your son best - is his desire to go stronger than his fear of boarding? would he regret not going or would he be happier to stay at home another year or two or more and try again when he is older.

If he tries again when he is older, places for years 8,9,10 are probably more difficult to obtain so it may mean waiting til year 11 to audition for sixth form? How would he/you feel about that? Again on his maturity levels but also on alternatives for his ongoing training at home. It may not matter in the least that there is no drama in his school if he still has theatre school, access to singing and acting classes, local theatre productions that do not involve missing school? My DD is a dancer and no dance was offered at her secondary school but she nevertheless auditioned successfully at 16 for dance courses and at 19 is now working under contract as a professional paid dancer.

Last but not least - finances. Look carefully at where you consider your money best spent. If you have to make any sacrifices as a family and are they worth it. Bear in mind, its not just fees and uniform - but travel expenses for when he comes home for exeat and holidays and for when you go to visit him and to see him perform.

You have a lot of things to consider and you really do need to weigh up and balance out the pros and cons for your individual circumstances and your son of each option open to you. And I wish you all the luck in the world in reaching a decision.

[Missella88]

Thank you so much 2dancersmum for taking the time to provide such solid advice. Lots of thinking to do for us as a family and little time left to decide but hopefully we'll reach the right decision for all of us.

[Caroline A-C]

My dd is currently at Tring and she started in Year 9 which is when the majority of her year started. For the first three weeks at Tring in the September term all boarders have to stay at school as it breaks the backbone of home sickness quicker. After that they can go home every weekend after prep on Saturday morning. They can have one weekend a term (I think) when they can go home on the Friday evening. There is some activity/outing every weekend to keep them occupied. If your ds really is worried about boarding at this point then perhaps you could discuss things with the school.

[Missella88]

Thankyou Caroline A-C. I did infact speak to the pastoral department this evening who were extremely helpful and very reassuring. They explained about the 3 week rule which obviously makes sense. They also explained that there is one exeat per half term plus another chosen exeat termly. With the ability to come home after prep on a Saturday as well as the alternative option of collecting ds after prep and returning him before bed there seems to be enough scope for him to settle confidently into boarding/school life. I've explained everything to ds & this evening he has now changed his mind and said that he wants to go to our local outstanding school for which he also has a confirmed place. I am definately not a pushy mum by any means and he has been the driving force for Tring. When we received the letter explaining that he hadnt received a scholarship he was devastated as he thought he'd lost his place. I cant help feeling that he is potentialy letting an amazing oportunity pass him by because he is scared of boarding. I know that ultimately it's our decision as parents but I also feel thats its important to consider ds wishes.

[Missella88]

We have now accepted the place at Tring for ds. Just wondered if anyone else is in the same position i.e with ds/dd starting on Theatre Arts course as Year 7 boarder. Would be fantastic to be able to make some links before starting.

[redjellybean]

hi

my daughter is starting tring in sept but is much older and is going into 6 th form.
She has boarded on/off before and my younger daughter aged 11 has weekly boarded at 'ordinary' school since yr 4.

Your son will be fine...the schools are really geared up for it, and usually keep little ones very busy to stop home sickness. Things we did to help...a tuck box filled with photos/posters stuff from home...planned stuff to do at exeat weekend prior to them starting so they have some thing to look forward to,
ritual of favourite dinner the night before going back, and we asked relatives, god parents , fave uncle to send little cards/notes/letters etc during the first few weeks..not really going on about being homesick but just chatty news type stuff.

Though my daughter has boarded before and is older this is the first time she has been a full boarder and too far away to just pop home for the night ! so i am a bit anxious too...however have said that if she is really unhappy it is not the end of the world and we will give it a term but we have a back up plan...she looks at me like I am barking mad ! this is all she has ever wanted .

Fingers x when they are actually there they will all be too busy/excited/exhuasted to be home sick.

[Missella88]

Hi redjellybean
Thank you for taking the time to reply. It's so helpful to be able to hear from others in a similar situation. Good luck to your daughter for September, I'm sure that she will love every minute of it. I loved your helpful hints on things that you did to help & we'll definitely use those ourselves. The school have been amazingly supportive & we're visiting again in a few weeks time so he can meet some of the current younger boarders/housemaster to ensure that he's entirely happy and secure with boarding. If all else fails, then we'll just have to move or rent locally for a while. I think there may also be that part of me that doesn't want to let go of ds & be left feeling like a redundant Mummy. It's so ridiculous! he's been away on tour every other week for the last year so we should all be used to it by now. Yes fingers X!

[Caroline A-C]

Just thought it was worth mentioning that there are children at Tring who perform in the Westend and they are introducing an agency for the Associates this September (I think) which will then be rolled out to the full time students the following year. At least I think that is what the email we were recently sent said.

[Missella88]

Thank you Caroline, that's good to know.

[pollypickles]

My dd is also boarding in 6th form on the MT course. She's so excited!!!!! Good luck to everyone who is going!

[bethjinty66]

Hi, Just need some quick and solid advice.Ds has been a boarding place for year 7 entry onto the theatre arts course. Scholarship audition but no award which was half expected due to the fact that if we scrimp, save & stretch ourselves to the limit for the next 7 years then we will just about be able to cover the fees. He wants to go but is really worried about boarding. None of his elder siblings have boarded before so he will be the first in the family. The dilema is either Tring with huge fees to pay and his fear of boarding or local Secondary which is Outstanding but non-arts based and therefore no opportunity for creative development whatsoever. They have gone so far as to remove drama from the curriculum. They also have a blanket refusal policy on absence from school for creative pursuits of which he has done quite a bit of prifessional work already including a national tour so I am so confused. He currently attends a good Theatre School at the weekend as is part of their agency. Any help is greatfully received abd currently urgent. Many thanks

No drama in the curriculum , outrageous, is that what's happening in the English system ?

[Missella88]

The school has science & sports as it's specialisms. It has a traditional choir & orchestra but that's as far as the creative curriculum now extends. Drama has been removed from the curriculum due to a low uptake. During the Headteachers initial presentation he expressed that every boy has a God given talent & its the schools job to develop those talents.....just so long as those talents fall within the realms of academia or school sport that is. I checked the schools most recent policy on absence & was informed that absence from school to engage in professional work will under no circumstamces be permitted. Their policy also extends quite interestingly to extra curricular sport & therefore any boy who is selected to play for a youth football academy is also denied time off to attend. This hasn't however prevented them from referencing the success of two of their notable former pupils who are both now playing for premier league under 18's sides but were both denied absence from school to pursue their dreams & were forced to leave the school to be educated elsewhere. I don't believe that it should be the job of a school to determine choice or limit the full potential of an individual to achieve.

[DancingDisneyMum]

Anyone care to share experiences of Tring Park sixth form?