School suggestions for a girl serious about studying drama ?

[WhenICountMyBlessings]

I only know of Arts Ed as a school specialising in performing arts but which also offers an academic curriculum up to age 18.

Are there any others? Or are there any good day schools in London \ or boarding schools within an hour and half of West London which have a fantastic drama department which would be good for a girl serious about pursuing drama as a vocation?

She is 14 and wants her parents want her to also do A Levels before \ whilst studying drama.

Many thanks,

Blessings

The Hammond has a drama strand but it is in Chester, they do have boarding.

Tring Park Theatre Arts strand.

To be honest though if there are no otehr extenuating circumstances I don;t think you need to attend a specialist school for drama in the same wasy as you do for dance or music. Most of the children I know who have attended such schools have done so because they had a bad time at their local school or other specific circumstances. Saying that the training they received was good but not vital. (Its a different matter at 6th Form level as most I know who attended those schools for 6th Form or Upper School as its known have done very well. In fact I'm currently investigating such options for ds who is in Year 10.

Sorry I just noticed she's 14 so presumably the same age as my son.

In which case Tring Park do a 6th Form drama course rather tha Theatre Arts which includes Dance and is Lower School. You can sit A levels alongside. Dd looked at the MT course but didn;t apply as she hated their Summer School but I know children who are very happy there. Out of all the schools they probably have the widest range of academic options available.

Arts Ed - dd was all set to apply. She was very impressed by their stand at Move It but ultimately we deicded that not only could we not afford it, but that the dance training offered elsewhere suited her better plus their A level option blocks didn't fit with what she wanted to do.

We went to an Open Day at Hammond last weekend with ds. Their 6th Form Drama course is excellent (Btec worth 2 A levels plus the option to sit two purely academic A levels alongside it.

My dd

This might be no good to you but I'll post anyway incase it's useful for someone else who reads the thread.
Emil dale at Hitchin in herts are supposed to be really good, it's more for musical theatre and they don't focus solely on drama they do singing dancing etc and it's pretty intense . ( I don't think they offer other a levels)
I only know about them as all the kids who aren't local stay with local host families and my mil is a host for two girls currently studying there.

Unusual school but one that is known for a focus on Dramatic Arts is Bedales near Petersfield off the A3.

There are quite a few colleges similar to Emil Dale around the counrty now, some are excellent, some not so much.

Ther reason I didn't mention them though is that they are very focused on Musical Theatre and Triple threat and also none of them offer A levels which is what the girl in the OP wanted.

What about the BRIT school in Croydon ?

If you can afford it, Hurtwood House is both academic and performing arts based. Bedes, Hurst or Brighton College also worth a look. Brit is not highly academic and has a limited range of core subjects in sixth form age.

The good schools guide has a page on schools that might suit your daughter

www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/choosing-a-school/child-with-performing-arts-talents

There is also this ( St MArylebone state) school very near Paddington Station that has a strong focus on drama etc. i think you can get scholarships as well
stmarylebone.school/school-news/

As far as I am aware BRIT School does not offer A levels.

My DD is also passionate about a career in acting. Having researched and talked to a lot of people, inc. her Saturday Drama and MT school, her Lamda teacher, and her GCSE Theatre Studies teacher, all are advising A Levels and University rather than Drama School. Personally I am really happy as I would prefer she had a broader range of skills early on, and then speciliases. We are looking at Eng/Drama Uni courses, with a view to applying post Uni for pure Acting. We will still also look at Drama Schools at 18, but again from experience these are really hard to get into, so we do the UCAS at the same time.

@AlexanderHamilton yes sorry they don't do A levels, but the course they do count as 3 A levels for UCAS.

I didn't study at BRIT but I did a BTEC ND back the olden days, which I used to go into university with no issues. There were ICT / IT / Digital modules etc and communication studies so we didn't use do arts stuff. I'm sure it's even better now.

Obviously if you want to be doctor you won't get a place at uni without certain A-levels, but it really depends what course you take and what options you want to keep open.

Do your A levels matter once you have a degree?

• didn't just do arts stuff.

What a great example of my additional skills grammar not being one of them

As a previous child performer I can tell you that specialising from 14/16 will make no difference at all to long term career success. Do normal A Levels, lots of Am Dram and apply to drama schools at 18. Honestly, just look at some top actors histories, hardly any went this route.

Abbots Bromley? Boarding in Staffs, focus on performing Arts. Ibstock Place in Roehampton?

BRIT does do A Levels, a friend of mine has just finished there and did A Level English Lit. They don't make a big thing of it though because the focus is very much on the vocational courses with AS/A levels as a secondary thing for those able and willing to do it, plus you will only do one A or AS level which if you are hedging your bets for trad uni courses might not be enough.

As someone in the business... I'd say honestly it doesn't really matter. Find somewhere with strong drama provision but not a specialist school. Many independent schools have their own theatres. Many state schools do a lot of drama and productions etc. If she is getting a lot of drama provision at school that's great but if not she can always do classes outside (dance is really a must if she wants to do MT, LAMDA exams etc are good for acting). Things like NYT and NYMT in the holidays, or any of the London summer schools.

Most people I know did not go to specialist schools and it hasn't disadvantaged them. Many people don't get into drama school first time round and it takes a couple of goes.

TBH even most musicians and dancers I know didn't specialise till 18. Exception would be ballet.

There's lots of things she can do A levels in that would actually help her if she wants to act. Biology and PE are good from a physiology point of view. I've lost count of the number of actors I've had to send to physio... English Lit is good when you learn to critically evaluate a work, you need to be able to break down text and understand it, look at context and metre and all sorts of other things. Drama A level itself. Languages are good when you consider that you may tour abroad (I've been to Spain, France, UAE, Hong Kong - and I've got friends who were on the NT's Hamlet that went to every country in the world!!). Music is not only good if she wants to do MT but it helps with rhythm and aural skills and movement which is important in straight acting. When you're at school you can't necessarily see the bigger picture of how things can help get to your end goal!

(I really like careers advising hahaha)

If you are interested in Tring, they have open days on Thursday and Friday this week. I would suggest contacting the school and arranging to visit with your DD, the open days do give a pretty good representation of the school. And will hopefully reassure you regarding A levels.

I work with children in the performing arts and would actively discourage specialist schools unless their passion and talent is dance (and even then you can wait until 16 so long as you have great extracurricular training).

The most important thing for drama school is knowing how to audition. Lots of drama schools run weekend and holiday courses on this. Plus when it comes to getting parts, you might be the most talented actor in the world but if you don’t fit exactly what the director is looking for then you won’t get the job. You 100% need good grades and qualifications to support yourself through the times you have no work.

I would look for a “normal” school that not only has a great performing arts department but is also supportive of giving time off for professional work. Queenswood has a fabulous drama department and weekly boarding - definitely worth a look.

I personally recommend after school drama and dance lessons. For all good drama schools you are required to audition to get in.
On the question of actually being asked to play the part, I suggest you keep in mind that you won’t always get the part you want. A level literature is a good option. So is music or dance. Do some research online.
My local college has a performing arts department. Look for opportunities locally in your area too. Find out about classes after school and sign up. How old is she now? Be prepared to spend time learning your lines and practising often. Performing arts skills take time to learn and hone.

Any decision or view point will be highly personal, and as you would hope, it’s something that people feel very strongly about. Our DD joined Tring in lower sixth on the drama course, and so I hope you will forgive me for picking up on the some of the points raised earlier in the thread

Tring Park do a 6th Form drama course….. you can sit A levels alongside
At Tring all the drama students are expected to take 3 A-levels alongside the vocational drama course.

Her Saturday Drama and MT school, Lamda teacher, and her GCSE Theatre Studies teacher, all are advising A Levels and University rather than Drama School
Given the quality of training available to us locally (within 30 miles), both DDs out-of-school drama teacher, and LAMDA teacher (who also taught LAMDA at her school) advised that DD would benefit from the specialist training Tring Park offers. Tring Park themselves emphasise the need to have academic options to back up any type of performing arts career.

Obviously if you want to be doctor you won't get a place at uni without certain A-levels,
Very true, and given that the acceptance rates for the top Drama schools are 2%, getting the best training seems a sensible decision. As an aside, they have had students (including the ex-Head boy) get a place at medical school, and others go on to Oxbridge.

The most important thing for drama school is knowing how to audition
I think talent is probably more important! However audition training is covered in upper sixth both in groups and 1 to 1 sessions.

I personally recommend after school drama and dance lessons
In our experience, as DD got older, the amount of time required for these in addition to GCSEs meant that she wasn’t able to socialise with friends and was feeling a bit isolated despite having lots of friends!
In a typical week DD had classes 4 school evenings, all day Saturday and every 4th Sunday. More if they were rehearsing for an extra piece not covered in normal classes.

If you can afford it, Hurtwood House is both academic and performing arts based. Bedes, Hurst or Brighton College also worth a look
If you choose to go down this route, and I don’t know these schools so can’t comment on their drama training, please ask how many hours per day/week are spent on vocational training and if there is a proper organised programme of study being followed.

As a comparator, TP has 5 lesson each day of academic study (inc some frees/personal study/chance to have a lie in ), followed by four and a half hours each day vocational training. At the weekend there are optional dance classes, though all students take a streamed dance or fitness class each day anyway. Each term all the drama students take part in a performance, many of which are open to the public.

Sorry this such an essay!

Picking up on a couple or Error's points our decision for dd to attend vocational school for Dane/MT was based a lot on the lack of quality training opportunities locally and the time constaints.

I'm convinced it's not as necessary for ds who is going the actor/singer route however his happiness & desire to study certain subjects (local btec drama courses are pretty poor & force you to specialise as you can't also sit A levels alongside) will be a factor in our decision.

Much better to get extra curricular experience in a Youth Theatre attached to a good theatre, a Rep or Arts Council funded theatre. And do A levels. And in-school dramafor ghe enjoyment, but as others have said it isn’t the primary route j to a life in theatre.

Hurt wood House parent here. Very academically vigorous but masses of time available for dance/drama/MT/tech/music with professional quality facilities and equipment. Academic lessons in the morning so afternoons devoted to activities.

KGS has fantastic drama

Our DDs are at Cheltenham Ladies' College and the drama is superb. Seriously consider sending her here as they have mazing contacts and could get her to meet the right type of people to give her that advantage in her future career.

Wow this is all fantastic advice - thank you all so very much - I will certainly consider your views carefully and look at the recommended schools - but I can see that the general consensus is to continue with A levels and university - which confirms my own thinking. Just love Mumsnet
B x