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Extra-curricular activities

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Original poster

Music Junior Programs

261 replies

MissScotland · 02/01/2021 16:26

Hi lovely mamas,

I'm trying to look into and learn about the different junior music programs with a view for my DD to start next year. She's in year 5, grade 6 on the piano (will be taken in March), grade 3 violin, grade 5 theory (distinction). She's super musical and talented with a passion for composition too.

We are looking at the primary academy and RAM, Junior Guildhall and RCMJD. At the moment she has two piano lessons a week, one at home and one at school and a weekly theory/composition lesson. We think she'll get quite a lot out of a junior program, socialising with kids with the same interest and playing in different groups.

I was wondering if you can shed some light on a preferred program. At the moment I'm leaning towards RAM simply because it's the closest, but we are will to drive further for a good reason.

Also, is it common to apply to more than one program in the process? How hard is it to get in?

Another question that might sound silly but I'll give it a go anyway - is year 6 a good year to start? With 11+ exams and music scholarship exams and auditions for secondary schools I wouldn't want to push her too much. She's only 9...

I'd love to hear your thoughts, tips and insight, ideally from first hand experience :-)

Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
doesanybodyhaveamap · 07/04/2021 13:42

A lot of sense in what @Ashard20 is saying. I really don't know why you would want to only half do JD by sticking with current teachers. To get the most out of these things you surely have to give yourself to it fully? These institutions are all absolute experts in their fields, and whilst I've always been very active in researching potential teachers and requesting consultations when DD moved to both JD and later specialist school, at the end of the day, you've also got to trust their experience and process. They've seen many thousands of talented kids come through their doors and overseen thousands of pairings of pupils with teachers - and while it's true we know our kids, they know their teachers. I'm not saying they will always get it right, but on balance they will get it right more times than wrong. And there will always be scope for movement if things don't go as well as everyone hopes.

TotalShambles · 07/04/2021 13:46

MissScotland private lessons tend to be earlier in the day, and PA starts around 2 (maybe a little earlier for those who do theory). My child had the private lesson at 11:30 so we then just had some lunch after and then PA classes started at 2.

dinosaurinmybelly · 07/04/2021 13:48

That's interesting, so at the RAM PA, you could participate only in the ensembles / musicianship classes? Are the fees discounted if you are not having your instrumental lesson there?

This is possibly something they agree to on a case by case basis, because it wouldn't make sense if everyone did it surely?

WordsandMusic2020 · 07/04/2021 13:59

@Ashard20 @doesanybodyhaveamap I have to say, I totally agree. I know a lot of our DCs will have wonderful relationships with existing teachers, but the teachers at JDs will be wonderful too! Having done one consultation lesson already I can already see how energising it will be having fresh input to DDs learning. And given that lots of the instrument teachers also do chamber music at the JDs too, I do feel the kids will be more wholeheartedly integrated doing lessons there too. In all honesty, we wouldn't have dreamed of staying with existing teachers - even though we adore them - because we know it'll be amazing teaching at the JDs and we want DC to have the full experience.

horseymum · 07/04/2021 15:27

I'm nervous about my DD changing teachers but it was always on the cards and it is the right time. I'm confident they are all really good but I don't have a preference. Her woodwind teacher is a specialist in another instrument so was always going to move her on about this stage once he quickly realised she was quite serious, same with her piano teacher. RCS does offer ensembles only places but we are going because we want both.

TotalShambles · 07/04/2021 15:59

dinosaurinmybelly the standard classes for PA are ensemble(s)/orchestra/choir/GM and, for those who need to get g5 theory done, a theory lesson. The private lessons are then timetabled individually before the main sessions start. The fees are standard for that bunch of group lessons and the individual private lessons are then added on - some kids will have several private lessons because they have a number of instruments and you can request an extended lesson (to an hour) which is added on as well.

manuelandviolin · 07/04/2021 16:40

We visited RAM, RCM and Guildhall. RAM said DCs could keep the current teacher if they wished, Guildhall said they could consider, and RCM flatly said 'no'. We applied for JDs mainly because DS was approaching the last year of primary school which meant approaching the end of lessons with his then teacher. I needed to think of new arrangements with a new teacher soon, and I deliberately chose to move him to a new teacher a year early so he wouldn't need to deal with everything new at the same time in Y7. When DS got offered, the peri teacher said she felt her job with him hadn't done yet so would like to teach him one more year. We felt torn for a while. But after a long thought, we concluded that 100% commitment or no joining. No regret. And we are still in touch with the peri teacher, not for lessons but as a friend.

WordsandMusic2020 · 07/04/2021 19:22

We got an offer from RCM JD today. No idea how to make a decision on which will be best for DC (it's between Guildhall and RCM as our two faves). We've had a brilliant experience with the Guildhall so far and I feel we have a really good sense for their programme and their ethos and I sense that the pastoral care is excellent. Much less contact with the RCM and I don't really have a handle on them at all. If anyone has experience of the RCM and can input thoughts - esp on the pastoral care, whether there's a high level of internal competition and the strings dept - I'd be super grateful. Good luck to all those still awaiting news.

disorganisedmummy · 07/04/2021 19:27

wordsandmusic, Well done for getting an offer from RCM,wow! We're waiting to hear from Trinity Laban for my ds who's 14. He auditioned for GH a couple of years ago but didn't get in and he hasn't felt ready to go through it again till this year. We did an online open day for Trinity and ds loved the vibe. We were told that RCM,RAM,GH and Trinity all send their offers out around the same time so we would hear around May 1st so it's interesting that some have had their offers through already. It's bloody nerve wracking though isn't it.😬

WordsandMusic2020 · 07/04/2021 19:55

@disorganisedmummy It's really nerve-wracking! I'm surprised Trinity say May 1st as RAM, Guildhall and RCM all said early April (and have come good on that - in fact two were late March). And I believe all offers for those three will be out by the end of this week. May is a long time to wait - hope you and DS are managing to hold your nerve!

disorganisedmummy · 07/04/2021 20:03

Thanks for your reply, the lovely woman that I've been dealing with said something like "in the interest of fairness we all send out our offers around the same time so you should hear from us around May 1st." Now I'm wondering if she's fobbing me off? Arrrrghhhh, it's doing my bloody head in. Ds is being very good about it on the surface but he told me that inside he's finding it really tough. Bless him.

WordsandMusic2020 · 07/04/2021 20:09

@disorganisedmummy I'm sure she's not fobbing you off! I haven't seen anyone on here yet with Trinity offers. And with Easter in the way I'm amazed any of them have got their offers out tbh. I know it's AWFUL but you have to try not to panic (she says, having panicked for the past month!) Fact is, until you have a no, you still have a chance of a yes.... But I agree it's awful for the young people having to wait, esp when they've put heart and soul into the auditions.

disorganisedmummy · 07/04/2021 20:13

Wordsandmusic I haven't seen anyone mention Trinity at all. Unfortunately ds didn't have a very good audition experience with GH which put him off auditioning again. We didn't bother trying for RCM/RAM as they seemed to want prodigy level musicians and ds is a violinist so competition would be phenomenal. We were recommended to try Trinity. 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Original poster
MissScotland · 07/04/2021 20:36

@WordsandMusic2020 Congrats on RCM offer! That's awesome!

OP posts:
Original poster
MissScotland · 07/04/2021 20:38

@disorganisedmummy I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about and what she told you is true for Trinity. The deadline for offer acceptance for RAM and GH and I'm pretty sure RCM is May 1st so they must send offers way before that.

OP posts:
WordsandMusic2020 · 07/04/2021 20:50

@MissScotland Thanks! It was quite unexpected, tbh...

horseymum · 07/04/2021 21:22

Lovely to hear more getting offers. I wonder if they mean at the latest by 1st may. This would mean there might be one or two more later offers due to some people turning down their space before the deadline for accepting your place.

JazzTuba · 07/04/2021 22:22

@WordsandMusic2020 congratulations to your DC! That’s wonderful news. You have been so very positive about GH...But I don’t envy your decision.

WordsandMusic2020 · 07/04/2021 22:56

@JazzTuba I will be surprised if we don't take Guildhall given the good experiences we've had with them thus far, but I suspect there'll be a fair amount of procrastinating before any decisions are made!!

Emilyviolin666 · 08/04/2021 01:26

Has anyone else heard back from RCM for piano?

Emilyviolin666 · 08/04/2021 01:33

@WordsandMusic2020

We got an offer from RCM JD today. No idea how to make a decision on which will be best for DC (it's between Guildhall and RCM as our two faves). We've had a brilliant experience with the Guildhall so far and I feel we have a really good sense for their programme and their ethos and I sense that the pastoral care is excellent. Much less contact with the RCM and I don't really have a handle on them at all. If anyone has experience of the RCM and can input thoughts - esp on the pastoral care, whether there's a high level of internal competition and the strings dept - I'd be super grateful. Good luck to all those still awaiting news.
Congratulations! Which instrument did you apply?
WordsandMusic2020 · 08/04/2021 07:15

@disorganisedmummy I'm sorry your DS had a bad experience at his Guildhall audition. I do think engagement with the school at audition sets the whole relationship. We've been so impressed with Guildhall's engagement, and a bit put-off by RCM cancelling virtual open days and general lack of comms. But it's nigh-on impossible to get an actual feel for any of these places in the absence of being able to visit. Hence why I think decisions are going to be particularly hard this year.

And I really would be surprised if you didn't hear from Trinity before May 1st. Both Guildhall and RAM reported results much earlier than expected - I think they set late deadlines largely to give themselves some wiggle room!

Original poster
MissScotland · 08/04/2021 17:10

@Emilyviolin666 we haven't yet

OP posts:
SE13Mummy · 08/04/2021 23:37

@disorganisedmummy the real life vibe at Trinity is lovely too!

When my DC auditioned for Trinity, they received an offer within about five days - the audition itself wasn't until mid-April and we weren't interested in anywhere else so there wasn't the same pressure. My DC has had a very happy five years there and I've been impressed by the pastoral side and the genuine desire to meet the young people where they're at, encouraging their broader musical interests and being willing to be flexible rather than sticking to a rigid pathway.

disorganisedmummy · 09/04/2021 08:19

SE13mummy Thank you so much for your post. It's lovely to hear that your dc had a wonderful time at Trinity. I've convinced myself that it's going to be a no as it's been over a month since we sent the audition videos in. If you head within 5 days I can't understand why they would need to keep us waiting for so long unless it's a no. This will be ds's last chance to apply really because this time next year he'll be preparing for GCSE's.

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