Which schools offer GCSE Dance?

[Threecouldbefour]

Hi,

We are considering a move next year as where we live is just not ticking the boxes. Our oldest daughter is starting Dance GCSE (about to enter year 9) - she really loves dance and I'm desperate for her to be able to continue this if we move. She will also be taking Drama which seems widely available elsewhere.

We were initially looking around the Cheltenham area but I can't see Dance GCSE offered anywhere around there unless I'm missing something. Find this surprising as it seems an arts focussed area.

So - looking further afield - do you know of any schools offering Dance GCSE? We probably need to be within 1.5 hour train journey of London for my husband's work (he will largely be working from home.)

Thank you.

Thank you so much for all that brilliant information. That's so interesting and insightful. I am going to look through it again tomorrow. Its really helpful to hear from people who have older children and the paths they have taken. Luckily my daughter is persevering with ballet as she's always known it's the foundation for everything else, despite her being less keen on it than tap etc Sorry if I haven't replied to everyone but I'm so grateful for all the comments. X

Hi, you could also try Birmingham Ormiston Academy. Start at year 10 and they have students who travel from as Oxfordshire. Links to the Brit School too

@JoJoSM2

I think Glenthorne in Sutton has been mentioned. It’s a national teaching school with a performing arts pathway/scholarship.

If living in outer London with easy access to everything that London has to offer as well as the countryside and the coast, what is it that you’re looking for in a new area?

Must get to bed but in answer to your question - we're looking for an area more similar to where we used to live - low key things to do but lots of them within easy reach (by that I mean within 15 mins drive.) We'd rather by more in the middle of the country so we can get out to places further afield more easily. Cheltenham area appeals as you can get to lots from there - Bristol, Wales, up to the Midlands, not bad down to Cornwall, Cotswolds etc We're at the southern edge of the country here and it feels very limited in terms of getting out to places easily - we miss the variety for weekend trips. There's basically only one place to 'pop' out to here - we live really close to it and the world and his wife are always there. I don't want to have to drive half an hour on the motorway for a pop out for an hour. Anyway... that's a whole other discussion!

@Lowther

Hi, you could also try Birmingham Ormiston Academy. Start at year 10 and they have students who travel from as Oxfordshire. Links to the Brit School too

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll have a look.

There is also the Wilkes Academy in Swindon, might be worth checking if they do anything for under 16's (post-school provision normally).

As a PP said, I think a few schools have withdrawn dance as an option - I know one local Gloucester dance school that said they'd run it because of this.

I wouldn't move actual school for a GCSE in dance, do it in a dance school. If your child actually wants and is good enough to be a dancer she should be moving up the dance school ranks, not GCSE.

Chipping norton school does dance GCSE, train stations charlbury or oxford parkway for london. We live close, good school friends DC are there, recent head change more academic focus now. Great 6th form also does dance a-level.

@AriettyHomily

I wouldn't move actual school for a GCSE in dance, do it in a dance school. If your child actually wants and is good enough to be a dancer she should be moving up the dance school ranks, not GCSE.

Just to be clear - I wouldn't move schools for a GCSE in dance. She has chosen it at her current school. I just wanted to find out where else it was offered in case it happened to match up with an area we would or have looked at. It would be easier if there was a way to find out via AQA etc I'm just wondering whether there's a chance she could continue with it somewhere.

@littlefireseverywhere

Chipping norton school does dance GCSE, train stations charlbury or oxford parkway for london. We live close, good school friends DC are there, recent head change more academic focus now. Great 6th form also does dance a-level.

Thank you - that's really helpful.

@ChicCroissant

There is also the Wilkes Academy in Swindon, might be worth checking if they do anything for under 16's (post-school provision normally).

As a PP said, I think a few schools have withdrawn dance as an option - I know one local Gloucester dance school that said they'd run it because of this.

Thank you

We are in the north west so area not relevant to you but my DD (13) is starting GCSE Dance at her dance school (her school also teach it but not to the same standard IMO).
Has your daughter considered the Arts Mark scheme as an alternative. The higher levels are worth UCAS points and highly regarded.

Another mother of a dancer here. GCSE or A level dance are not required to pursue a career in dance. My DDs academic school did offer GCSE dance but she didn't do it as she was already dancing at a higher level than that, and the academic side of the course didn't particularly appeal to her.
Dance degrees at regular universities might want A level dance, but they are academic degrees and aren't really designed to produce performers. As others have said, the commonest route to a performing career is a level 6 Trinity Diploma done at a specialist performing arts school or college. There are some places that offer a degree that is more performance orientated, for example Central School of Ballet or London Studio Centre, and they have the advantage of being funded by student finance like other degrees, but the Diploma is the more commonly offered qualification.
If your DD definitely wants a career in the performing arts I would say that the quality of her out of school tuition is far more important than doing GCSE dance. She needs to be in a good local school, preferably with a track record of getting pupils into full time training. I'd also be looking at Associate schemes to bolster her training. If she wants to do classical ballet she probably needs to be in full time training by 16 to have the best chance of success, but if its musical theatre or contemporary dance that is her main interest then it is fine (and quite possibly better) to wait til she is 18 to go away.
But either way, GCSE Dance isn't important. Entry to all performance based courses depends almost entirely on audition rather than qualifications. Some do have some academic requirements but they are very much secondary to the auditions. Of course if your DD wants to do GCSE Dance simply because she likes the course then there's no harm in her doing it, but in terms of a dance career, she won't be disadvantaged in any shape or form of she doesn't, so definitely don't choose a school on that basis.

My daughter went to a grammar which didn’t offer dance. She did stage school and really wanted to do a dance gcse so I looked into doing this outside of school with a dance school. The message I got was for girls serious about dance it’s better to do with dance school as you have group assessments and you are then put with a higher level of dancers than if you did the gcse at a high school. Remembering that some kids choose a dance gcse via high school as they think it’s an easy option or like the idea of doing a more physical gcse rather than an academic choice.
Gcse dance is not just dance - it’s also dance history and essays are involved - if you consider now much time is spent on gcse dance during a high school week - that has to be replicated outside of school. So at least a few hours each week plus additional weekend workshops.
We ended up deciding we didn’t like the grammar school and moved to private which offered gcse dance. My daughter is now having second thoughts about doing it. We thankfully didn’t move schools because of the dance.
Honestly, I would be more concerned about the impact on her of moving house / schools / friendship groups as she goes into gcse years. She might not do well in the other subjects because she has to resettle into a new school. Also, by year 10 the teachers will know the other kids at her new school very well - being new it’s unlikely she’ll be first in line for major roles in drama or dance when she firsts starts.

Barnwood Park (comprehensive) and Ribston Hall (grammar) both in Gloucester and both definitely offer dance GCSE. Ribston offers it at A Level as well.

Not sure about which secondaries in the area offer GCSE dance (DC wrong age for that) but there are several decent performing arts/dance schools in the area instead, some attached to theatres (Like the Everyman or Playhouse in Cheltenham.) Maybe that would be an option - they offer practical exams in various fields?

Northampton School for Girls does GCSE dance, as does (I think) Wollaston School. Northampton and Wellingborough are around an hour to Euston and St Pancras respectively.

It looks as though Thomas Keble school in Eastcombe, just outside Stroud, does GCSE dance. It’s 1.5 hours by train from Stroud to London (Paddington- same train as the one from Cheltenham but closer). About 15 miles from Cheltenham (about a 30 minute drive).

It only goes to GCSE though.

If you want to move to Lincolnshire ,and can cope with 1hr6min Grantham to Kings Cross then there is this school

www.walton-ac.org.uk/curriculum/courses/dance/

It has a good reputation in the area and it is quite easy to commute to from villages if you don't want to live in Grantham, plus you will get a much bigger house for your money up here .

Came on to second Ribston Hall- it's a girls grammar school in Gloucester that offers GCSE and A Level dance. It also doesn't have a catchment area so many students from Cheltenham attend. Your DD would need to take a test to get in (details on the website). My DD is an avid dancer and starts in September. Barnwood Park is the only other one I know of but it's non-selective and has a small catchment area.

I did wonder if any of the grammars did dance.

It is true that Barnwood has a tiny last distance admitted for the past few years and is difficult to get into unless you live close (Cheltenham would definitely not come under this category).

If you’re looking at Chipping Campden, Moreton in Marsh has school buses to the school, and is on a train line to London. You would also have the option of the Cotswold School, although I don’t know if they offer dance as a GCSE.

Sorry for the radio silence! I'm recovering from a bug (how do you get a bug when you haven't set foot in a shop since March?!)

I'm very grateful for all the replies! I'm working my way through them now. I think the main thing I'm taking away from this thread is that GCSE/A Level dance has no bearing on a career in PA and also that dance GCSE can be done at a local dance school which I had no idea about. This would make our future decisions much easier as it might not be the end of it altogether if she couldn't continue it at a new school.

It's also been so interesting to hear from people about the path their children have taken after GCSE or A Level. I feel I've got lots of reading up to do. Of course she's only 13 and things could change but it's her only passion so I think it's likely she will want to pursue a career in that area.

Thank you again!