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Nowhere. He is having to take the year out. It's so harsh. Can't even go in to Clearing .

Jaybeeyellow I feel for him but the prospectus says the standard offer for gsa is AAB so he was fortunate to only be set one A with ABB for his offer. This is the contextual offer (one grade lower for schools not in the top 60% for A level results). They get 1000s of applications - fiercer competition than Oxbridge - so probably have to stick to their criteria or be overwhelmed with suitable applicants.

Okay...that is GSA off the future list for us.He will get something better I am sure.Best of luck

As you say hecouldshine, there is more competition for drama schools than for Oxbridge, but GSA are the only school that require such a high level which personally I think is a draw back to the school. Even if my son had been capable of getting the required grades, I would probably have worried the standard of acting may not be as high as other schools with more of a cross section of academic abilities, which give places purely on acting ability.

nigelben wrote:As you say hecouldshine, there is more competition for drama schools than for Oxbridge, but GSA are the only school that require such a high level which personally I think is a draw back to the school. Even if my son had been capable of getting the required grades, I would probably have worried the standard of acting may not be as high as other schools with more of a cross section of academic abilities, which give places purely on acting ability.

GSA is the only place we've looked at as (so far) ds is planning a normal university degree and we were going to Surrey's open day anyway, so I have no idea what is expected academically anywhere else. A girl who showed us round the studios had resat A levels in order to apply there. What do other places ask for grades wise? Is it by points or grades at different places?

As far as I know the only other schools that ask for A levels /Ucas points are LIPA two A levels at grade C, East 15, 160 Ucas points including C&E at A levels and Btec equivalent and MMU school of theatre 280 Ucas points which is where my Son has completed his first year but they offered him a place although he was 20 Ucas points shy of what they said they required. Just looked at Drama Centre, they ask for 2 A levels and 3 GCSEs A-C. It's worth looking at all the websites as there maybe some requirements but not as high as GSA.

I think LSC was 280 points

Hammond offer a musical theatre performance degree. A typical offer is 280 UCAS points

As for the Wilkes Academy as far as I am aware they offer the Level 3 Btec as they can get it funded via a local college.

I was a bit sniffy about it as A good friend of mine worked with Jonathan & really didn't like him. However more recently a close family member was asked by s colleague in another institution to go down there & do some wirk there. Hecwas really impressed with what he saw going on there - both the standard of teaching & the showcase was impressive & the place was very forward thinking.

This family member (who has taught at 5 other well known MT/Dance colleges is more concerned in his opinion with industry preparation than paper qualifications & he liked what he saw.

What do GSA do when somebody pops up who is extremely talented, but is not going to meet the academic requirements?
Do they make an exception? I bet they do.

They have a certain number of places a year they can give to exceptionally talented people without the right qualifications. I think they said two! And those were allowed by the university only after hard negotiation

I can believe that. He also got a D* D* in his Btec Performing Arts, which they obviously didn't take in to account.
It would seem that they ask for your predicted grades. It does seem harsh though when some students are "only" doing the Btec Extended course, and others are doing A2 exams too.
Not sure that in the long run GSA are doing themselves any favours. I understand the reasons but I do think that these extremes are ridiculous.
I already know several people who will not be applying to GSA. It's just not worth the heart ache. It borders on cruelty!

That is so harsh Jaybeeyellow. It does seem unfair to compare something like A level Maths with BTecs. I'm sure the rules come from the university, and wonder if this is why other drama/music schools are connected to what are considered 'lesser' universities. My dd did a mix of A levels and BTecs and wouldn't have reached those entry level requirements either. She'd have been devastated too to have had an offer from GSA and not got in because she slipped in Economics A level! Just to add a couple to the UCAS list, she had offers from London College of music (Uni of West London) of 2 distinctions and 2 Cs at A level (a friend had DDM from Btec performing arts as an offer), and from Chichester of 280 UCAS points. She happily got into LCM and is very relieved! I did notice a few MT and acting courses in clearing too, including actor/musician at GSA, although not many! Good luck everyone for next year.

With the greatest of respect to the University of Surrey, I doubt that many of its students would be reaching the very top grades at A level. It is not a russell group uni, nor a red brick. My eldest daughter is studying Law at a RG, Red brick Uni, and there are people that have been accepted onto her course with worse grades than have been asked of my younger daughter's b.f. Crazy!

I'm not quite sure why I'm defending Surrey Uni but I did like it. Their prospectus says they are 6th in The Guardian league table for 2015, 11th in the Times/Sunday Times table, and 12th in The Complete University Guide. The only course I can find that asks less than AAB is Nursing (BBB). Even Sport and Exercise Sciences asks for AAB. I guess they want a reputation of being tough to get in to.

I have to agree, I am defending Surrey too. Great uni !!! Last year GSA wanted BBB and this year their requirements have gone up. To do a degree there is a lot of written work too, so guess that is why the grades are high. GSA can offer a couple of students who do not fit the remit a place each year, maybe an overseas student . This may seem harsh and GSA may choose to do things differently but their hands really are tied sadly.