A LEVELS AND THEN DRAMA SCHOOL ?

[MAGGIEMAE]

Dd is dyslexic and anything that involves her writing anything independently fills me with dread. The help she gets at school is fantastic but the stress homework causes us all is terrible. It is not just the case that if you work hard you get results.

[pg]

BTW , quite a lot of offers of places from drama schools will be made long before anyone's results are known if they are applying while they are in the sixth form. My ds had his offer from RADA before his A levels (didn't help his revision dedication much!).

Edit: I've remembered that wrong! He had his RADA offer just after he'd finished his A levels I think. It was an offer from another drama school that came before A levels. It still didn't help his revision...

[paulears]

I don't understand? Dyslexia is rarely a problem for exams and coursework. I don't quite understand what you mean about it not being the case that if you work hard, you get results?

People who don't put in hard work rarely get good grades nowadays. Maybe a few who are just human sponges and can speed read and retain info and then regurgitate it on demand - but by and large hard work needs putting in to get good results. So many nowadays don't even revise! Some do, of course, and they're a bit special - as are their parents who take the time and effort to assist where they can - but many drift through 2 years and then hope for a fluke to get their results.

My own experience of people with dyslexia is that they develop techniques and strategies to help them cope, and very often the teachers cannot spot dyslexia in their work, because they've worked really hard sorting it out. On the other hand there are lazy people who 'claim' to be dyslexic to kind of excuse their pathetic written skills. One friend of mine who is amazingly dyslexic often gets work sent to her, with little notes excusing the terrible presentation, saying "Johnny is dyslexic so please excuse the word documents in the folder". Very rarely are these excuses taken into account. The person who spent time sorting it out before printing it deserves credit for the effort. Actually, BTEC works a little better with dyslexia, because only in a small number of areas is writing 100% critical. Things like evaluation and analysis, explaining and describing can be done verbally - whereas in A Level, it's more difficult.

I know quite a few ex-students, who went to uni on a BA programme, who I'd describe as a bit thick - but because they weren't afraid of hard work, they got their degree - and that is how it should be. Lazyness and unreliability are the two biggest barriers to getting qualifications nowadays.

[Caroline A-C]

I didn't think that the offers for the vocational colleges were conditional anyway. They are made based on the audition. By the way I have two dyslexic children and am myself dyslexic and have never used it as an excuse. I treat it as another way of learning rather than a disability and that is how my children have coped with it. There is a big difference between the work of those who are genuinely dyslexic and those that claim to be so don't it get in the way of things. Dyslexic children are often more capable and I think this is because they have had to develop their own strategies along the way.

[Genevieve]

I agree paulears that children who work hard should gets results, that's the ideal isn't it, but it is a generalisation.
The revision technique I talked about in previous post, the Method of Loci is a recommended technique particularly good for dyslexics incidentally, helping them to remember things using trigger markers, such as pictures, colours, but my dds not dyslexic and this works for her too, really useful.
Students with dyslexia and many other conditions associated with learning and concentration are given extra time to complete their examinations, which varies on a sliding scale depending upon the individual, and in order to get this extra time they have to provide supporting documentary evidence to get this !! But of course some will work very hard and still not achieve their potential, dyslexic or not...because of so many other factors ...some students just do not do well in examination conditions perse, whether dyslexic or not..and that 's nothing to do with being lazy, it's just they can't work under that kind of pressure,and not every child is able to remember large chunks of information at any one time.
Interesting to read that your ds got an offer at RADA pg before he'd finished A levels !! Yes, I can understand that he may felt it ok to relax somewhat, having had such good news !

[paulears]

I'm not really best to even comment on exams - I remember very well, A Level Maths - second paper. I sat there in the exam room, all alone - loads of empty desks, thinking everyone was cutting it fine - when a lady walked in and asked what I was doing? Paper 2, I said happily - er, she said, that was yesterday! That was a long time ago and I still remember how stupid I felt!

[Genevieve]

great story !
I was terrible at remembering anything in exams, so in my history I just drew a map of Brazil !!, nothing at all to do with the question whatsoever..I just thought really hard,couldn't remember any of my revision...drew a blank..so drew something I'd revised which was a map of Brazil..I did label it !!..I hasten to add..I got a 'U' grade ..oops !
Because of learning scripts ..my dd has a brilliant memory, so I hope that any vocational drama course she may get on she will be stretched ..that's why I am concerned that a normal University degree course, more academic route may suite her more...but she is determined to go the drama school route. so I will support her. I think all the advice has been great, and its answered my concerns. A son of a well known acting couple told my dd...go study English at Uni, and then go to Drama school, as you need a good standard of English...but it's the financial implications that's stopping that now. so hard !!

[GypsyMumNot!]

LMHO on the map of Brazil Genevieve!! That did make me laugh! Wonder what the examiners thought??

[Genevieve]

,,he probably took a large red marker and drew a line through it in discust !!!!
...they could have given me a mark for labelling it tho !

On a different note.....do you think having done 'A Level drama' helps for drama school applications ? I know it's not a prerequisite.

[shortguy]

No - my son has A Level Drama/Music and Dance but no college places

[Welsh Mum]

Its the practical skills that count and unfortunately A level drama does a lot of theory. However, it may help in an interview I suppose.

[Genevieve]

interesting.It does give them experience and widen their knowledge of text I guess.

No - my son has A Level Drama/Music and Dance but no college places

sorry to hear this - incredible really, especially as I know the standard students need to be for music for schools to put them in for A Level and it's very very high!

But to memorise and perform monologues for drama A Level, and all the ones on top of that you need for auditions for drama schools in the same year, could be total overload perhaps ? I know they can't use the same monologues for every audition, and I recall someone on this site said that they check that you've used different monologues for each audition in the vocational drama schools ? One I know has their own lists to choose from.

[paulears]

Learning and delivering a monologue is very little use in the performing world. In a vocational course, that would be a tiny bit of what they get up to in a year. Somebody with the best grade in A level may never have taken part in a real production, and never have had to learn an entire script. They'll never have had to manage real rehearsals and it's likely that they'd find a small part in an amateur show rather difficult - they'd be able to do their monologue, but would they have any skills working with others, responding to direction and communicating with the audience. A Level dancers can probably tell you about the social and historical circumstances prevalent at the time a particular dance form was developed, but can they learn a 3 minute routine in one session and then perform it?

The drama and dance schools like practical skills because it makes their lives easier and they can get straight on - they don't have to re-teach people to dance.

[Genevieve]

apart from performing monologues for auditions to drama schools, that's probably while they have group work too and see how each candidate interacts - not sure of level of dance expected for the BA Acting courses mind you, but you'd probably have to show you can pick things up pretty quick, no ?

[stars-in-their-eyes]

I've just found this thread and it sounds oh so familiar! My dd wants to act too. We advised her not to do a Drama degree for reasons similar to those outlined above, but to either do a more "academic" degree or full time drama training. She decided to go the academic route and got a First in English at Kings College London. However she was just as keen to act as ever so then applied to drama schools. She got to final recalls of some of the top schools but has not yet got a funded place and is planning to try again next year. However, things which we have discovered are
1 You cannot get funding for a second "first degree". That means you not only don't get a student loan, but you are expected to pay the rate foreign students pay, ie around £17,000 instead of the £3,000 British students pay. Postgraduate courses are generally only one year long so obviously don't provide the same amount of training as a 3 year BA course.
2 However, for straight acting (ie not MT, dance etc), all the schools prefer you to be older - they are not really interested in 18 year olds fresh from school, especially if they have lived a relatively sheltered life.

I hope these observations will be helpful!