music scholarship

[kagurazakamum]

I was shocked to see from a brochure of Surbiton High school that there was only one music scholar for a year they published.
DC is working towards grade 2 for a woodwind instrument and grade 5 for piano. Currently in year 4. DC enjoys playing but not so much with practicing for the sake of exams. If music scholarship is not something we can realistically expect, I would like to step back and take it easy going into year 5. I'd like for DC to do another sport to be honest.
DC is quite academic so don't think 11+ will be too tough, but may not be at a scholar level.

What should I do.. put music down for a bit and focus on academics or continue with music at this pace?

why is it your choice, not your child's?

What does your DC want to do?

No point signing them up for a sport if they have no interest in it.

I won’t be asking for something dc isn’t interested.. just a sort of fun exercise type sports I meant, along the line of dance, gymnastics, swimming etc. Maybe sports was not the right word choice.
DC has no specific preference, obviously if I knew better I would accommodate accordingly. Shrugs to the question, do you want to continue or quit and do something else. But then of course as a parent I also could have a say!

you are asking the wrong question then. Just ask her what extracurricular activities she wants to do, tell her you need to know, and give her a few days to decide her answer

@kagurazakamum , I'm familiar with Surbiton High. It's not because they won't have offered loads of music scholarships, it's because they were all turned down. I would put money on the scholar listed coming from the prep school too. The music at the school isn't that high level compared to the other local private schools so if your dd is capable of entering into the music scholarship journey she will be trying for more than 1 school and SHS is likely to be her last option. Focus more on the level needed for LEH and KGS if you are serious about this route.

On the other hand if your dd is good at football and playing at club level aged 9-10 then getting a sports scholarship at SHS would be her first choice as it's the leading girls football school at the moment.

Thanks @redrobin75 that's the kind of info I was looking for. I didn't know KGS was also well known for music. Do you happen to know the 'levels' required to be seriously considered for schools like KGS or LEH? I was told my DC's tutors at least grade 8 in one of the instruments, but really can't imagine my summer born child in that level by year 6. I don't want to target unrealistically, if it makes better sense to just focus on academics need to switch directions sooner than later

There is a thread on this subject in Secondary education. A common combination is grade 6 violin, grade 5 piano by age of 10. Voice doesn't count at every school. There is only a small pool of dc with this ability and they are all chasing the same schools hence Surbiton not getting many acceptances.

For music scholarships, your child really, REALLY needs to want one for it to be worth doing.

Most schools have quite significant expectations of their scholars and you aim at the place in order for the child to have extra opportunities in their specialist area.

So your post makes no real sense to me - is your child interested in music or are YOU interested in them having a scholarship?

DD is on a music scholarship at secondary (and was offered a variety both state and private which allowed us to pick the school we wanted as it came with a pretty much guaranteed place).

She HAS to take music GCSE, music theory and is expected to make the most of the opportunities on offer (masterclass days, bands, choirs etc). Not a problem as she'd be quite happy doing nothing but music all day if she could - but onerous for a child who wasn't that interested. So watch what the commitment level is.

FWIW, DD was at G6/7 level (we don't do exams) in her first study and had been performing professionally for several years by 11, and offered 2 other instruments at lower grade levels. None of them orchestral. A couple of schools were more interested in classical and/or orchestral instruments, but all those who offered her scholarships did not care less that she never did exams and were extremely supportive of what she does and the kind of music she is interested in.

And agree - you tend to meet the same children at music scholarship assessments. Most are sitting for multiple schools - and as a parent, you will be picking the school with the better music department (all other things being equal), so that may explain why there are fewer scholars at SHS.

Continue with music but take the pressure off your child (= no grade exams) and pick up another sport instead. That way you don’t burn any bridges and can ramp up if and when DC is ready, willing and keen to do so

@OhCrumbsWhereNow DC's only fairly interested but has been making good progress which is why I started to build up the idea. But you're right, that sounds like a lot of commitment I'm pretty sure DC (or myself) will not want to pursue.
Once the exams DC is working on are over in a month or so, I will be taking some pressure off like what others suggested, so she can try out on other things and also have time for prepping 11+.

I think that sounds sensible. These things really need to be led by the child - and you can generally see by what they are doing unprompted.

My DD is also good at art, but whereas she will easily spend 2-3 hours a day on music (composition, singing, messing around with different instruments etc), she just happens to do nice drawings... but she's not driven to do it if that makes sense.

You can have a lot of fun with music without needing the scholarship, but having one could turn what is fun into an unhappy time for a child who isn't up for the demands that a school may place on them.

This grade 8 only for scholarships is utter nonsense. I would ignore. Normally this is spouted by people who didn't get in. They didn't get the offer because their DC wasn't high enough, not because they weren't a grade 8. The music leads at these schools will spot talent when they hear it, regardless of 'grade 8'. Lots look for typical distinction pupils. So a distinction grade 5 player will be better than a mediocre grade 7 player for instance.

OP Why do you want the music scholarship? If it’s for money to make fees more affordable, that makes sense but it is often not a significant amount, you need to check school by school. If it’s to look more rounded at 11+, I’ve seen no evidence it helps any more than just saying what music they do on forms / at interview.

And OhCrumbs is absolutely right, being a music scholar is a huge commitment and can lead to the DC disliking music as they feel forced in to it. Unless there’s a strong financial incentive, I’d send a musical child to a school with a good music department and let them choose what they wanted to get involved in and (crucially) to be able to say ‘no’ to things if they prefer to spend their time some other way.

As others have said focus on what your DD enjoys music/sport wise. My DD was offered a music scholarship at two schools with lower than G6/G5 in fact she didn't do piano at all - that may have been because Covid had made lessons / exams difficult, not all teachers were keen to move to remote lessons. The commitment for being a music scholar is high though and not all schools offer free lessons as a part of it so having to pay for two weekly lessons, plus exams and music books may mean that the scholarship doesn't have much financial benefit.

I'm a bit confused about why you're looking for the scholarship. In our experience at a different girls' school, you need to pass the academic exam, and then the music scholarship is a separate assessment. It's worth a bit off fees but as others say, it's a big commitment.

I don't know if this is the case with the OP but lots of schools when offering (after exam) will look to 'other' skills. And if your DC is at scholarship level for anything they value, then of course they are more valuable to the school. This is particularly the case in bursary situations. IF you need a bursary of sorts AND your DC has some great extra skill, you are more likely to be awarded the bursary you need because they want your kid. It's especially the case in London independents. Of course you need to pass the exam first but after that....there are lots of very bright kids out there tutored or not but the next part is do they have 'other' skills.