Talk

Just for the record, if you are doing ABRSM exams you do not need grade 5 theory before progressing further.
You can just as easy take practical Musicianship or solo jazz exam gr 5 both have no written exams and are definitely more applicable and beneficial to those who want to be musicians rather than those being taught an instrument to gr 8. Not that I think theres anything wrong with this, if that is what you want.

If you take Trinity board exams you don't need ASB grade 5 theory at all to do your grade 6-8 exams!
Although I think it is important to have a good understanding of theory to inform your practical skills and musical interpretation. Understanding the grade 5 theory topics can make learning new pieces so much quicker and easier!

morethan - tbh if you are a competent musician then you should be able to pass the exam without much effort, maybe not a high mark but still a pass.

OP - why are you frightened of the piano teacher?

Just to report that of my "own volition I phoned the exam centre and asked for dd to be put in for Grade 2 instead of Grade 3. Now I have to face the teacher... [fear emoticon]"

well done!
how about just letting it be your little secret? he'll never know till he sees the certificate.

"tbh if you are a competent musician then you should be able to pass the exam without much effort"

not so much "to be honest" but rather " to have fixed opinions" there I think.

The material for the AB Gr 5 theory is actually fairly in depth - having taken the exam myself as a child, even though I def didn't enjoy it at the time I later found what I had learnt useful in preparation for GCSE , A Level and degree study . Especially as a lot of the syllabus wouldn't have been directly covered within instrumental lessons alone.

That said with past papers and good workbooks being easily available I wouldn't consider taking the exam for grades 1 -4 necessary if the work had been understood and completed to a good standard - I suppose it depends on the teacher in questions opinion

How did she do?