stagecoach - is it worth the cost?

[pippi123]

Stagecoach is opening in our area and it seems pretty expensive. Does anyone have children who go there? what do you think of it?

it's really popular and there are always waiting lists so I guess it must be good - also very fashionable what with the Xfactor etc on TV

My dd loved it, and it really worked wonders for her confidence - not that she really needed that!
Of the three hours, there was one hour singing, one dancing and one drama. The holiday courses were fantastic too.

Unfortunately now that she's at senior school, we can't fit it in!

I would look elsewhere, a lot of local run dance schools offer the same service for a fractionof the cost, and it is often a lot better.

my dd goes to a local theatre workshop, which is miles cheaper and does very similar things. In terms of kids who actually want to get into acting or tv work it also has a better reputation. I realise thats not why lots of younger children go, my dd just has a really fun time and met new friends, built confidence etc. i guess i would recommend that kind of activity, but i don't know whether or not stagecoach is worth the cost or not, sorry. others who've used it may have good advice.

dd did it for about 18months aged 10/11 ish. She hated the dancing bit and quite enjoyed the rest - but not enough to justify the cost, so we dropped it.

Obviously I have a vested interest but I will try and be as neutral as possible.

I fully believe in Stagecoach, I don;t get involved with things that I don;t beleive in. The standard of teaching is usually very good. One of the main advantages I would say is the small class sizes. You can achieve much more with a class of 15 than with a class of 20-25.

The other advantage to my mind is that Stagecoach schools are accountable. They are independently inspected at least once a year (it is a drop in inspection with only 10 minutes notice).

Each school will of course reflect the personality of its individual Principal but the teachers are all experienced professionals. The only way you can decide for yourself whether the cost is worth it or whether it will suit your particular child is to go along and visit, either on an Open Meeting of to visit the classes once they have started.

Most Principals will not allow you to visit the first week or two of term though whilst they are settling the new students in.

DD2 and DD3 both go to a local Drama club they are now 14 and 16 and really love it. They are in two different age groups.These are for young peaple over 12. But there is also a junior group that dd2 used to go to which is from 7. I pay £15 per year each for membership ( which means they can get discuonted entry for other things taht go on in the centre) and £3 each week for the club. The youngest one has dyspraxia and her confidence has really grown since she has started going.
I think there is also a 4-7 year old group.
So you might find that there is something simular near you. It is much cheaper then Stagecaoch.

BF's DD has been going to Stagecoach for ages and really loves it. She's leaving now, but only because her age means that she'll be swopping from slightly expensive (imo) to unbelievably expensive.

DS goes to Jigsaw which is slightly more expensive than JStagecoach. I only take him cos it is so local and I feel that I should be taking him to something but I am not convinced. He loves to sing but he never seems that happy at the thoughts of going.

It depends what you are looking for - the stage school aspect of such a school would put me off but ds has been going to a local Perform school where the emphasis is on improving the child's confidence nad although he has only been going since january, it seems to have helped his self confidence a great deal.

The best thing to decide is to go and visit and ask questions. Organisations such as Stagecoach are not designed to turn out little Bonnie Langford's. It is more important for children to develop skills and confidence that can be used in all aspects of life.

Just being confident enough to stand up and speak in front of people for example can help in several aspects of school/future working life.

Natural talent should not be rewarded, but effort and achievement should be.

This has all been very helpful - I don't think my DD would be a Bonnie Langford type!! I really wanted to try and help her to be more confident than me - speaking up in groups etc - it sounds as if this would do the trick. thanks everyone for your help

My dh teaches at Stagecoach. My kids go too. Personally I was very 'off' towards it and thought it very expensive waste of money. However it is better than I thought. It does help with confidence and is a lot of fun. Yes if you have a kid really into drama or dancing then a theatre run youth club is often better, and a traditional dancing school better for that. However it really depends on your child, my kids love it, and I do think get loads form it. They don't want to be actors though.

DH is an actor and he gets v involved in these kids lives, particulary if they do school shows, or apply to drama schools, he spend hours doing additional tuition and seeing school productions. In return these kids see him in everything he does :)

My ds has done two summer schools in film making - brilliant, bit too far away from us now though :(

So how much is it then?

Personally I think it is fab. DS1 (now 6) has done it for the last two years, in two different stagecoaches and loves it. He didn't have any particular confidence issue but actually loved being in the limelight sort of thing, which is why he went in the first place.

I think it's really paid off in his school life - loads of 'up front' parts in assemblies/ Christmas play etc. His (regular) school teacher told us he was 'unusually articulate and self-aware' for a 6 year old - his 'show & tell' presentations were a 'joy to see' (honest! I almost fell off my chair!!!)

I'm not sure I'd agree that the local drama club in the church hall type thing is necessarily better - they are often unregulated/uninspected and run by drama students from local colleges without taching experience IMHO..... (at least they are in our area!)

We have students who both come to Stagecoach and belong to their local drama club.

The main difference between the two is that at Stagecoach they are leaning particular skills and techniques, at the drama/theatre club they use whatever skills they have got to put on shows. We have a very good relationship with some of them, they do a great job at their particular thing.