Tring Park school

[Garmentology]

Are there any parents out there of Tring Park School for the performing arts? Ousted results aren’t great but would rather hear from a parents experience.

It’s a school for performing arts and, as someone who works in the industry, is the only school I would consider for a child under the age of 16. I have worked with children from various other schools - Sylvia Young, Redroofs etc. They place as much importance on the academics as their talent. Less so at the others.

Remember though, this school selects on talent not academic ability. Results are not going to be stellar. They do have children getting top grades and the very small class sizes mean they have appropriate support.

That said, unless your child is a dancer and you can’t access classes at a high enough level outside school, there is not that much to be gained attending a specialist school like this before 16. I always encourage parents to find a mainstream school that is supportive of the arts and keep up the training and experiences outside school. There are plenty out there.

My dd went for sixth form.
Loved it but did get very anxious and stressy.. Think might have done that anyway though it is a bit of a hothouse of dramatic teens!
School is excellent at making them realistic about the industry, the performances are incredible and overall my dd had a very good experience, she is not academic but did do OK in a levels. Her academic friends all did well but the workload is huge... A levels in half the time as vocational training takes half the time. Plus rehearsals, choir, music, dance etc etc.... Its tough but if your child is determined and resilient it's fantastic.

My DD is there currently, we’ve found it to be excellent. What are your questions?

When we looked for younger DD, some years ago now, the dance training was all morning and the academics all afternoon so days were long. This doesn’t suit everyone. There was no sport at all. You have to really want this!

The boarding accommodation was old and basic. Hopefully upgraded now. In fact the whole school estate felt run down, apart from the vocational areas. As the fees are astronomic it is only suitable for the most dedicated. That wasn’t DD! She danced at her standard boarding school and was happy with that.

OP. If you have a girl, Queenswood near Potters Bar is great for performing arts. Dance, music and drama are first class there. Obviously not Tring but a normal school day and less pressure.

Op the whole point about Tring, Hammond etc is that they ARE performing arts schools.
DD joined in 6th form, they are very over subscribed so to get an offer you have to be very talented, you can’t buy a place.

From Yr 10 the students have 5 lessons of academic work each day (this is the same as DD was getting in her state day school), followed by over 4 hours of vocational training EVERY DAY.
That’s proper training, not just rehearsing for shows - though obviously there is that performance element too.

I agree that the boarding accomodation is tired, but DD seems oblivious. It’s warm, welcoming and the house mothers are there full time as house parents - they’re not also teaching. Plus new accomodation is currently being built for September so I would expect a reorganisation at that point.

There is no additional sport taught but they have a dance or exercise class every day. So more sport than DD had in her previous school.

The academic staff are excellent, they really care about the students and push them to achieve their best. DD is predicted top grades in her 3 A levels.

Tring isn’t for everyone, and because it offers different strands, I can only really comment on the strand DD is following.