Specialist School Thread

[happylilac]

Not very sure if it's a good idea to start such a thread. Specialist school can cause controversy, like boarding school or home education...

Well, mine has just started his this term, coming from a very ordinary primary school and a very ordinary family background. We didn't plan this, but it happened and here we are, supporting his specialist training at the tender age of 11.

Just thought it might be fun to exchange some posts with those who are in, have left, are thinking of applying or simply interested. I know very little of specialist schools in dance and music, and absolutely zero idea in other fields. I once heard of tennis specialist school. Does it really exist? What would it be like??

Just curious really.

@Hertsessex - that's a good summary, though you forgot St Mary's, which is very small, but diverse, in a small part of a very quiet city.

Must admit I had barely heard of St Mary's as not part of MDS I guess (and typical England focus :)) Is the Scottish government aided places scheme similar in terms of parent contribution to MDS? Just had a quick look and see it is a similar size to YMS but seems to offer wider range of instruments. That must be a challenge but guess it works.

It is fully aided by the Scottish government; most pupils who attend get at least partial if not full cover. I believe it is, or was at one point, the 2nd most expensive school in the uk if you paid full fees (not surprising considering it has 3 members of staff to every pupil). I know that Yehudi Menuhin had some connection to the school - he might have set it up or just had a close partnership with it?

DS auditioned only one but it was mainly due to the circumstance we were in (didn't mean to apply yet but things happened very quickly at the last minute). I felt we should have looked at other schools before jumping in to grab the unexpected offer but dropped the thought in the end as we felt the school would be the right fit for DS, not just musically but environmentally, and DS really liked it. Location was also a huge factor for us even for boarding as DS was still quite young and didn't want to send him away somewhere too far.

I had a few concerns at the beginning but it's turned out to be good things for DS so I am glad we trusted our instinct. On the other hand, someone left the school since DS joined. Not sure if the DC has gone to home-ed, other specialist school or non-specialist school. But all I can say is it's OK to change the direction/school if you realise it's not working. It' difficult to predict what works and how it turns out until you try.

Thanks Herts, Dd plays violin and started piano a few months ago. I have not heard of St Marys, we are very reliant on mds but will look into it.

They are all faraway from us happylilac so distance won't really affect us. I'm hoping Dd will know straight away if the environment is for her when we visit. I'd prefer for her to be in one school for the duration of secondary. But you are right, this is not a 'normal' environment so you have to be sensitive to their changing needs.

littlelads an advice audition sounds the way to go. Love the why not attitude, much less pressure

Technically speaking we visited two schools. We were just curious for the first visit. We liked the experience but DS didn't feel he would need to go so we dismissed the route completely. A year or so later, we visited another one - not to see the school but as DS had an opportunity to have a short lesson there. This time, DS was sold, like, 100%. It could be timing rather than just the school itself but DS definitely knew it was for him without any doubt. He's happy at the moment but as you say it's not 'normal' environment so we'll review the situation regularly I'm sure.