School for performing arts

[TFSRM]

I'd never really thought about this before but someone recently mentioned the Sylvia Young Academy to me and I thought it could suit DD really well for secondary. She's very into singing and acting and has been from a young age.

Does anyone have any pros and cons for a school geared to performing arts and any recommendations?

My personal view would be not. I feel these schools have a very pressurised and competitive / peer pressured atmosphere for young teenagers to be immersed in.

It's also limiting her to that field rather than enabling other options to come into her world at a later date. I would instead support her to develop her acting / performing interests through various extra activities and groups, local theatres, summer schools, and by looking for a secondary school with a Head who is passionate about the arts and supports those opportunities. She can always specialise at 6th form if things continue to develop, and will have lost nothing towards getting into drama / dance school/college for degree level / professional training.
Also places like Sylvia Young funnel the students into one particular genre / performance style of performing arts - along the lines of musical theatre style acting and dance, whereas if she were able to study Drama GCSE and then A'Levels or BTEC she'd be exposed to a wider range of influences and again she'd not limit her options to early. Eg she might discover she loves classical acting or something as opposed to tap.

How good is she, honestly? They do take some gcses at SY but generally focus is on performance, drama and dance. Fees are high and London travel costs, unless she gets a scholarship or bursary. Plenty of kids go to traditional schools and train in their own time. Otherwise there are other options for vocational schools, with entry at 11,13/14 or 6th form.

Thanks, that's useful perspectives

I agree with OxfordCat

Except you'll be lucky to find a school with enough performing Arts, if your dd is keen.

Specialist schools aren't for the faint hearted, but they suit some children down to the ground.
I'm experiencing this type of education at the moment, I don't know how they do it tbh.

Sylvia Young do holiday courses, that might interest your daughter. When I worked in town I used to see Sylvia students on the tube, talking and laughing, some had been for auditions for small parts/chorus etc. They always looked great, very well groomed.

The Italia Conte is very good too. My son used to go part time to a school that was an affiliate of the Italia but he stayed at normal school in term time.

Both schools have regular academic lessons.

I think your daughter would really do better to stay at school and do theatre studies as one of her A levels but you know her better than us.

Sylvia Young is awful. They do not educate those children properly at all. I've worked a lot with kids from there and absolutely would not send my own child. If you really want a performing arts school (though I would also say this isn't necessary as perfectly possible to pursue an acting career at a normal school), then Arts Ed is the least worst. Although it is also no good really as v limited curriculum etc.

You are far better to send her to a regular school that is supportive of the arts and then go to a specialist school at 16 IMO.

I work with children in performing arts and the only one I would seriously consider is Tring Park as it cuts the mustard academically as well as with professional training. That said, the options available in terms of GCSEs and a-levels are relatively small, there’s no sport etc. Unless your daughter wants to be a professional ballerina then there is no real gain to be had in specialising so early.

My DD was the same at 10/11 liked singing, acting and did some tap dancing.
She went for secondary to a school that had good performing arts and ended up doing dance and drama in addition to regular GCSEs.
Outside of school she had acting, singing, ballet and tap lessons, sang in a choir, was in a musical theatre group. She auditioned and got on to national programs in her summer holidays.
She has auditioned this autumn for professional training and has a place post GCSE. This seems to be the most route these days.

My DS went to Sylvia Young full-time school for a year before deciding it wasn't for him and moving back to an "ordinary" school.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the academic teaching was generally very good, but the number of subjects on offer was much more restricted than at most secondary schools - only one MFL, for example. The vocational teaching was unexpectedly patchy; very good in dance, OK in singing and pretty ordinary on the acting front. Students who were particularly focused on one discipline tended to take extra classes outside the school - so the serious dancers would attend local dance schools or associate programmes as well, the serious singers would have private singing lessons outside school rather than just relying on the school's group lessons, etc.

All the students were automatically represented by the school's own management agency. Because of this, a lot of the logistics of professional auditions and work were easier - for example, auditions were often carried out "in house" during school hours, and the agency would liaise with the school over things like permission for professional work. Being at the school is definitely not a guarantee of professional work or even audition opportunities. The children who did lots of auditions and were cast in productions tended to be those that already had good professional credits before joining the school.

The school definitely suits a particular type of child - robust, self-confident, sociable. There is quite a high student turnover; some start and then families find they can't sustain the fees or long commutes, some decide it's not for them. The school tends to manage out students that require anything other than a light touch on discipline. The focus is very narrow - performing arts only and no variety of extracurricular activities, which some children love and others can find a little claustrophobic. DS eventually decided that he wanted more variety than the restricted curriculum and lack of extracurricular activities could offer. He's much happier in a school with a broader range of opportunities, continuing performing arts classes outside school (with the advantage that we have more control over teachers/providers).

However he has plenty of friends who are happy and thriving at Sylvia's, as well as Italia Conti, ArtsEd and Tring Park. I think it is hard to know if it will suit your child until you try it.

The performing Arts schools sound very similar to the music schools.
I agree the options for GCSE and A level are limited and extra curricular activities just don't exist. PE is very limited and no sports teams.
The emphasis has to be on the specialism it's usually 2/3 vocational to 1/3 academic.
It works well for the very able and the definitely not so able. I think those in the middle need to decide if their specialism is to be their life's work.

Sylvia Young School feedback

Can anyone give me some feedback on Sylvia Young School for secondary school,please? Anyone's kids not living close by to the school, how do they find travelling there. How is the school from an academic perspective as well? Any bullying etc?

Thank you in advance