Performing art degrees UK

[Pineapplecakeee]

Where is good for a performing art degree? And what sort of qualifications do you need? A levels? GCSE

DC wants to move to a performing arts schools for year 10; however GCSES are not very good there and I am thinking is better to stay in current school until year 11 and try to get good GCSEs to keep options open as performing arts schools are very competitive

What is people opinion? Experience?

For degrees the pa colleges put more emphasis on audition than A level/level3 qualifications. However it is such a tricky industry to succeed in that it is worth having decent qualifications to fall back on for employability.

This is what I think. Thank you

Are you looking at conservatoires (intensive practical training for acting/directing/theatre making) or university degrees in Drama or Theatre Studies (standard Arts degrees).

They're quite different beasts.

I would really recommend having a look at The Stage's How To Choose Your Drama School 2024. Unlike The Stage itself, it isn't behind a paywall, and you should be able to order it from a newsagent:

www.thestage.co.uk/features/how-to-choose-your-drama-school-2024

I'm going to make 2 assumptions 1) Your DC doesn't want to be a ballet dancer and 2) you can access good quality training/associate schemes at home. If either of those assumptions is wrong, ignore me, but I they're true I'd say there is no real advantage to going to a specialist school before 16 or 18 actually, and the number of options open to you increases greatly at 16+ compared to lower schools. My DD was a dancer, now teacher, and she has many friends who went into full time training anywhere between 11 and 20 and, apart from the ballet dancers, those who went away young don't seem to have had particularly different career paths from those who had decent training at home until they were older and quite a lot of them had negative experiences at their lower schools.
As a PP said, you need to differentiate between academic degrees in dance, drama etc usually delivered by "normal" Universities and performance based degrees usually studied at specialist colleges. If your DC wants to perform they really need to be looking at the latter, and whilst they'll generally have some basic academic requirements, admission is really based on audition performance - they're unlikely to care hugely about A levels. An academic degree will require A levels of equivalent though.
The other thing to consider is that a lot of PA colleges will offer Trinity Level 6 Diplomas in addition to or instead of degrees. There are pros and cons, and one of the important things to consider is funding. You can get a regular student loan for most degree courses but not the level 6 Diplomas. However, there is a government funding scheme, the dance and drama awards, usually abbreviated to DaDAs. They're only payable at certain approved institutions, very competitive and also means tested, but not repayable like a student loan so worth a look if you might be eligible. The list of schools may also give you ideas of where to aspire too.
https://www.gov.uk/dance-drama-awards
And the golden rule for anyone training in performing arts - always have a plan B, and probably C,D, E and F too. It can be a very enjoyable thing to do, and obviously some people's dreams do come true but it is a precarious path and it's always best to be realistic.

Thank you all. I think DC is thinking more performing based degree at a specialist college. I am new to this so a bit clueless.

@Pineapplecakeee Which of the performing arts is your dc interested in? The answers people give would differ depending on whether they want to specialise in singing, drama, musical theatre, music or dance.

Pretty much all of the performing arts colleges are much more interested in the candidates' performance at audition than they are in academic qualifications.

Whereabouts are you in the country?

Apologies, thought I mentioned it. DC wants to do theatre. We are in London

@Pineapplecakeee Theatre - is that musical theatre or acting/drama?

What experience and training do they have so far?

It is acting. DC has been attending Saturday acting school for the last 2 years

If he wants to act, I would really recommend staying in a normal school, doing whatever A levels he wants, then beginning the process of auditioning for the drama schools. He needs to clearly understand that it is very unusual to get in on the first year of auditions, or even the second. I regularly speak to people for whom it took three or more years, so as @MrsAvocet said, he needs plans A - F (and beyond, frankly).

As an agent, I personally think the drama schools and conservatoires have the edge over a university degree course because of the level of input from industry practitioners towards the end of the second year and through the third year. The universities don't usually organise industry panels, and are not geared up for third year productions or London showcases, both of which are vital for visibility to both agents and casting directors which, in the end, is what is needed.

There are a number of MN parents who have been through this process. @ComeFromAway, for example, is very knowledgeable. I only really see it from the end, three years down the line, but have been working in the industry for a very long time and regularly take on drama school graduates.

I echo what a lot of others have said. My daughter went away to a specialist school aged 11 but she was primarily a dancer, we were struggling to access good quality training close to home and she was also close enough to commute.

For acting many drama schools like maturity. It is common not to get in aged 18 but to have to audition 2-3 years consecutivly.

I would advise remaining in normal school and joining a good youth theatre, perhaps taking voice lessons, then doing either A levels or a btec aged 16-18. There are always exceptions. Of course. My daughter is academic and was able to take A levels alongside her musical theatre diploma and she got excellent grades and excellent GCSE's. My son is not at all academic, he scraped through his GCSE's and did a music Btec. For him specialising earlier may have been an option.

My daughter, however is now going in a different direction. Various thigs contributed to this including covid and mental health issues but because she had A levels to fall back on after working for a couple of years in panto/TIE/character work she is going back to study sports science so she can work with injured dancers.

It's a tough life in the performing arts. My daughter did a diploma in musical theatre in Guildford after highers and Advanced highers(Scotland)then to one of the big drama schools in London.

She was/is a great singer but less strong at dancing. She did a few shows after graduating but it was tough. She worked as a childminder in between jobs.

During COVID she decided that she would study Law, as did another guy she trained with and she's now a trainee solicitor in Scotland (earning a pittance just now but good potential)

So good luck to your daughter but a back up plan is vital. The degree, even if she doesn't make it will give her lots of experience and she will be able to transfer some fantastic skills to another profession if needed.

Thank you all; don’t think DC realises how tough it is; but still young so I don’t want to kill their dreams but have to open their eyes somehow and encourage good GCSEs and A levels