Two tier education within state schools?

[Katapolt]

DD is starting state secondary in September.

We are not well off, I'm a single parent of three DC.

The school is very big on drama and performing arts, which DD loves.

Reading through the welcome pack today there is a performing arts school during school hours. Pupils attend during normal lesson hours.

Most of the pupils attend, it has lots of benefits apparently, extra ucas points being one and getting further ahead in the subject being another.

The problem is it is £300 a year...

I just feel it's giving pupils of wealthier families a distinct advantage in the subject. fair enough having a club after school, but this is during the school day.

Aibu?

I wouldn't encourage performing arts at 11. Kids need the academic basics first.
300 quid sounds like a con unless actual music lessons are involved.
Plus it won't help with UCAS unless they plan to study the arts.i wouldn't worry and would focus on maths English science and languages and these will be a passport to anything later on. Including performing arts to an extent.

"Well the school wouldn't promote them to this extent if they didn't believe they were beneficial!"

One flyer in the welcome pack is hardly heavy promotion.

It's part of the school day Glacinda

Yes, I have RTFT.

I was commenting on the extent of the promotion.

As others have posted, this sort of arrangement for music and LAMBDA lessons is terribly common. And perhaps both should be removed from state schools (along with all other paid-for clubs and activities). Along with the single flyer in the welcome pack.

"It's part of the school day Glacinda" Sort of. Both of my children provide music lessons from peripatetic teachers on this basis- a sort of rolling programme throughout the term so the kids don't miss the same lesson twice. They are a paid for extra- and I would not expect otherwise. It just means that they don't have to go to extra curricular music lessons- which they would otherwise do. I am pretty sure the drama lessons offered by the OP's school are the same.