Piano grades; one a year?

[Suki2]

DS aged 10 is at a local music school(overseas) which is excellent. Their policy is one grade a year, so he'll be entered for grade 4 piano in May. My problem is he is much better player than this. He is regularly playing grades 5 and 6, and he has distinctions on his previous grades taken.

Piano teachers, what's your view? Do you insist on such a slow and steady approach? I know that he can also play pieces outside of the syllabus, but all teachers inevitably have a huge focus on the exam pieces particularly in the couple of months before the exam, as obviously they want the highest result possible. I think he'll be bored of his pieces by then and wish he could do a higher grade.

It's probably different as he's in a music school. My DD has done grades as and when she's ready. The amount of practice they do has the biggest impact. She has skipped a grade when she's been ready too early for exam season though.

As long as he is learning lots of other things, it probably doesn't matter too much. Could he just take either Grade 6 or 7 the following year?

i understand that one grade/exam per year is about right but why can't he skip a grade?

Till Grade 1-2, there are so many techniques/musicality aspects to work on, Does it become so easy after this that just doing few pieces covers all aspect ? DS is at Grade 1-2 level and does 2-3 pieces per week and practice daily for 45 mins. around but still teacher didn't think he can give Grade-1 exam by this winter. He does so many other things apart from Method books, I am just wondering is our teacher super slow ?? He has been learning for 1.5Yrs with this teacher and some 8 months with 3 years gap in between ( but had retained his learning).

TeddTess he can't skip a grade as they don't bend their rules for anyone! No Wafflenose it'll be grade 4 in the summer term, then grade 5 the following summer etc; a very rigid system.
mom17 DS will be playing lots of pieces, most of them at a higher grade than the one he'll be taking. I think it takes around 2 years to reach grade 1 for the average student; if your DS practices for 45 minutes a day that sounds like more than average practice for grade 1, so maybe your teacher is a little slow.

That is a shame if it is so rigid: Music should not be a 'rigid' activity!

He can play other pieces, even in completely different genres, to maintain his interest, and practise exercises, scales, even transposing easy pieces at sight into different keys, to build knowledge. And I assume he will do Theory, and Sight Reading.

My dd is at a music school, she is well beyond the graded pieces she is playing and no idea when she will take an exam.
I have found the focus is on far many other things and they really don't care about grades.
They do take exams at some stage but they skip one or even 2 because the teacher is doing something different. Then it'd grade 8 and 2 Diplomas before they leave at 18, so I believe.
If you like the school go with the flow, they will know what they are doing.
I have found you have to trust them 100%, which isn't always easy I know.

This is a very interesting question. If system is rigid - what can you do about it? How close this system is to the UK exams? Does first year of study corresponds to the grade 1 in the UK, etc? How about taking part in festivals and competitions? He may not be allowed to skip the grade/year but is stretched anyway?

How about "slow students"? Do they also take one exam per year?