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Lots of acting courses do it differently. The RCSSD course ( accredited by University of London ) has very little written work (3 pieces in 3 years) it is a true vocational course with a great reputation. It is also extremely flexible about qualifications. The criteria is talent and potential, as it should be for this type of course. GSA has changed in the last few years, seems ludicrous to expect such high grades and all uni depts have discretion through clearing. Many of our best actors, singer etc had no A levels at all!

So what comes first, the grades or the talent?
Ironically, my daughter has just gained 3A's at A level in History, English and Drama plus a D*D* in Btec PA. She applied for MT this year, but got nowhere. Given their high academic criteria, she should be a shoo in[NOT!!] when she re applies next time round!!!

it all seems so unfair,... my dd got D*D*D* in her Btec Dance Diploma, which equates to 3 A Levels! (plenty of UCAS points)
She also got A*s, and A's in her GCSEs but decided to go down the vocational path.
She was offered several places last year and took up the place at Bodyworks and loves it.. good luck to all those applying this year

This thread has left me feeling very deflated and nervous!

My DD will be leaving school next year hopefully with the 5 grade A-C GCSE she needs ( Cs will be fine, that's all we are hoping for) Although Dance and Drama are predicted higher!

DD has only just turned 15yrs but managed to gain her place in NYT this year and was given a bursary from her dancing school to attend The Summer Dance School, Scotland ( which she thoroughly enjoyed and Learnt a great deal) so her talent obviously is in performing arts

We are going to look for colleges / stage schools that offer Btec. Can anyone recommend any, I would be truly grateful as I'm starting to feel totally out of my depth!!
Thank you in advance

With regard to Wilkes, I would think about auditioning late there, as if you are successful they are very very quick with wanting not only the £200 (I think it is) deposit but also issuing the contract. This means you may have to make a decision before even auditioning elsewhere. It seems a nice place and DD enjoyed her audition and has friends going there. They may have had many more take ups this year than they expected as lots of the accommodation offered to students was on shared room basis and not the single occupation they were expecting.

Lillielou wrote:This thread has left me feeling very deflated and nervous!

My DD will be leaving school next year hopefully with the 5 grade A-C GCSE she needs ( Cs will be fine, that's all we are hoping for) Although Dance and Drama are predicted higher!

DD has only just turned 15yrs but managed to gain her place in NYT this year and was given a bursary from her dancing school to attend The Summer Dance School, Scotland ( which she thoroughly enjoyed and Learnt a great deal) so her talent obviously is in performing arts

We are going to look for colleges / stage schools that offer Btec. Can anyone recommend any, I would be truly grateful as I'm starting to feel totally out of my depth!!
Thank you in advance

Have a look at the Sept 2015 thread - be warned, it is very long but full of info that you will find helpful, people in the same situation who have been through it!

Dance schools are often happy to take students 16+ whereas musical theatre is usually older 18+ for a lot of the bigger schools. Auditioning is expensive and so is travel, so worth bearing this in mind . Competition is very high, so being well prepared and mature enough to a certain degree , is important. Has she thought taking a BTEC at 6th form alongside lessons or a Saturday stage school? ( I know Sylvia Yound do one) They probably offer audition support too .

Thank you I will take a look through 2015,
Btec will be her only option as there is no way we could afford to pay.

Hecouldshine wrote:They have a certain number of places a year they can give to exceptionally talented people without the right qualifications. I think they said two! And those were allowed by the university only after hard negotiation

I think they told us on an open day earlier this year that for MT you need ABB and that they can take up to 20% of students with lower than that, which would be about 7.

OK. But what about those kids who will never achieve AAB because they are not taking A levels?
I do not believe that the majority of kids auditioning for MT at GSA are taking A levels, so where does this AAB thing come from. The majority are doing BTEC.
I personally know kids who have been offered places without A levels. They are doing BTEC, so those places must be offered based on an audition, which is how it should be in my opinion.
So why all this AAB stuff?

Sorry, ABB not AAB

Can anyone tell me re the Drama Schools like RADA, Bristol Old Vic, Guildhall, CSSD - when they have their auditions, are they at weekends or are they during the week? My DD is in Year 13, doing A levels and looking to do a straight Drama / Acting degree.

Hi Livy2, my Son auditioned the last 2 years for acting schools and the first rounds tend to be during the week, some of the recalls were at the weekend. His school was very supportive though and was happy for him to attend auditions, the second year was more difficult as he had a job so more difficult to have days off/swap shifts, luckily he got in last year.

Most of my dd's were in the week but one of her LAMDA recalls was on a sunday and Bristol was a saturday so bet you can request this - I would get in early to do that though - good luck! x

jaybeeyellow wrote:OK. But what about those kids who will never achieve AAB because they are not taking A levels?
I do not believe that the majority of kids auditioning for MT at GSA are taking A levels, so where does this AAB thing come from. The majority are doing BTEC.
I personally know kids who have been offered places without A levels. They are doing BTEC, so those places must be offered based on an audition, which is how it should be in my opinion.
So why all this AAB stuff?

BTECs have A level equivalents for UCAS. For example a Distinction* is worth an A* I think. Merit equates to something else (maybe a B) and Pass to something else (maybe a C). Not all Unis accept BTECs though and I don't know about GSA as my DD is only doing A levels. But based on what you're saying it seems like they do. There is a point which is that a large proportion of students doing BTECs seem to manage to get Distinctions with or without the star which equates to A/A* at A level, and very few kids get A/A* at A level. That's probably how they get round it. If they wanted As at actual A levels then they would not necessarily get the best talent as being strong in performing arts is a different skill Does not always equate to intellectual ability. Hope that all makes sense.