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Hi there, can any who has gone through this route advise please. Looking at courses for my daughter and trying to decide whether the 2 year BTEC then 3 year degree in MT would be best or the Trinity 3 Year Diploma.
If you do the Level 6 Diploma am I right in thinking after your 3 years you can do I one year top up to convert to a degree?
If so is this a full degree and a degree in what?

Thanks In Advance

No experience of it myself as dd is on degree anyway but Laine offers the top-up course which is a BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre:

http://www.laine-theatre-arts.co.uk/201 ... 37/ba-hons

http://www.trinitycollege.com/site/?id=1191

You can convert the diploma into a degree through Trinity. Its the BA Hons in Professional Practice validated by Middlesex University. The course is designed so that it can be completed while you are already working as a performer and it does not need to be done immediately after completing the diploma. No personal experience but some of DDs friends have done it - 2 while working at Disneyland and on cruise ships, and another mostly in between contracts while she was auditioning.

There are other 'top up' courses out there as more colleges are deciding to offer them, like Laines. The Trinity website lists some of them.

Top ups have worked pretty well for quite a while now. It started back in the HND days, and a few places still run these today. Usually the extra study means a year, but a few universities have decided about 18 months study is more realistic. Much depends on what they can already do. Feeder colleges that have systems in place with their validating universities tweak their HE to make sure enough content is in place to make the top-up 'doable' in the year. If somebody goes to a different uni, it could be longer. It's usually just the degree programme contents that matter. They go through and do a matching exercise that ticks their own degree's content against what the person did on their Level 5/6 course. Some music students find they don't have a second instrument, and have to learn one pronto if the uni have a two instrument rule. Similar with acting and dance content. Some of this can be done out of college, so if it can be done, then the year extra works.

The Trinity conversion course , from what I understand, is purely academic - to add on the shortfall in academic credits between the level 6 diploma and a BA Honours degree (120 credits). For dance and MT, there is no taught practical aspect but students do need to be 'practicing' their profession alongside their studies - paid or voluntary performances.

This is I believe different to some of the 'top up' courses, often designed more for HND to degree where there is practical content.

The link to the conversion course is below:


http://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/undergradu ... ctice-arts

Thanks all, just such a minefield and what to do for the best as our local colleges for BTEC are not the best but if we don't get DaDa funding it will have to be BTEC then Degree route.

She ideally wanted to go to London to do a BTEC anyone know of any good colleges in Central London offer a good Performing Arts BTEC?

Hi Jules
Where are you based? and when would you be looking for her to start?

Jules wrote:Thanks all, just such a minefield and what to do for the best as our local colleges for BTEC are not the best but if we don't get DaDa funding it will have to be BTEC then Degree route.

She ideally wanted to go to London to do a BTEC anyone know of any good colleges in Central London offer a good Performing Arts BTEC?

I think most of dd's friends at Urdang, both Diploma and Degree did BTEC route. The BTEC can be a great prep for either level 6 course but quality varies.

Does it have to be London? The living costs are so high. A few of dd's friends came from Tring's 2 yr BTEC in MT. Bodyworks offers a BTEC I think. Both are fee paying though.

DD trained at a specialist performing arts college. Their BTEC is free. Results are good and in every cohort of students there are offers from top colleges; Urdang, Bird, ArtsEd, GSA, Mountview, Laine, Performers, LSC, Bodyworks as well as universities such as Chichester and Leeds. When dd was there students came from further afield and lodged with other students' families Monday-Friday. I think you can get Housing Benefit to help with lodging costs if you are 16-19.
http://www.academyfortheatrearts.co.uk

Italia Conti - Guildford campus offer a fully funded Btec apparently. I'm sure they would be good.x

We are in North Essex so she can commute from home to Central London so no problem with living costs. Not sure I want her living away at 16.

She's Yr10 so not for this year just wanted to investigate what options were out there rather than just go to the local college which has very mixed reviews.

I'll be the same in a Year - my DD in Year 9 at the moment and really wants to go at 16 to do a performing arts course, hopefully getting a DaDa at one of the schools. If not she'll be going to a more local College. We're going to start going to some open days in September onwards.

Quite a few of the Essex colleges have moved Level 3 from BTEC to UAL - seems to be getting popular.

Thanks all, will start googling

Hi Jules
Did you get my pm?

We have 'plans 'but our back up is a local college offering a BTEC. We have just this evening watched their end of year MT production and I can honestly say it was brilliant.There were lots going on to good drama/dance schools from there including Bird,Arts Ed, Mountview and LSC. There is another at the end of the month which will also go to.We have started early looking at everything and feel reassured that it wouldn't be so bad if all else fails.My DD is y9.