Drama School

[littleelphaba]

So my dd who is 13 got offered a scholarship to one of the best part time musical theatre schools in Scotland and she has been attending for nearly a year now. But for about 3 months now she has been complaining about it, the teachers seem to spend more time yelling at the kids than actually teaching them, they get told it's not what you know it's who you know and I do understand that but then what's the point in sending her there! Also my daughter is very well behaved, mature and takes orders very easily but there seems to be one group of kids In her class that get into trouble but whenever they get into trouble the whole class gets into trouble! So her scholarship runs out at summer and she wants to leave now but the thing is it is a very prestigious school to go to and we come from quite a 'deprived area' so her getting in was absolutely amazing! Also she still learns things in drama (its mostly the dance teacher that yells) but that's only 20% of the course. So it's a wee bit of a dilemma and I was wondering if I could get any NAPMs opinons?? Xx

[tikto]

My initial reaction is to stick with it as you don't know whether the 'naughty' children might leave next year and things might change for better? It sounds like with you being in Scotland and a 'deprived' area it is a fab opportunity not to be missed if your dd wants to go into acting etc when she's older... Can you maybe carry on and if she's totally not enjoying it quit mid year?

[pg]

It's absolutely not necessary to attend a specialist school as a child in order to be able to pursue acting as a career. However, I think it depends how limited the alternative choices are - and perhaps it also depends how good the rest of the education is there. Or is this just a course outside school hours?

If it's outside school hours, I can't see any reason to stay if she's not enjoying it (if you're sure it's not just one or two bad weeks). It should be fun!


My dd was thoroughly miserable at the first school she attended. Her life improved hugely once she moved - so her experience suggests it's worth looking to see whether there are any practical alternatives IF the school can't help your dd with her current unhappiness and difficulties.


Have you talked to the school about her unhappiness? Is the pastoral care team aware of the problems?

Sometimes problems can be solved once staff are aware.

[fartoomuchtodo]

As usual PG is the font of all wisdom. Children really need to enjoy their extra curricular activities and, ideally, their schooling - plenty of time to be miserable later in life That said, if your DS wants to stay (or if you feel there are academic advantages) I would talk to the school about your concerns - they may be able to help in some way.

[jennifer1972]

As has been debated on other threads, sometimes drama school training at a young age can be a disadvantage and takes away the natural way of approaching a script. I would personally look into other options as this could influence in such a way that they are put off totally, which would be a shame.