Chichester Triple Threat.

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kzgirl
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Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by kzgirl »

I would just like to say for all the parents that worry about Uni courses for Musical Theatre triple threat, Chichester is a great course. My DD has had experience of a performing arts college but decided it wasn't for her. She has now started her degree course at Chichester and is loving it. The dance teachers are fantastic (every bit as good as a performing arts college). Students are streamed for all their dance classes so there is no waiting around for students who haven't done for instance tap before. Over 30 hours of contact time a week. The Uni has an on site medical centre which has a nurse available 24hrs a day, there are also physiotherapists for any strain injuries etc. DD went to see a showcase last night that the 3rd years performed she said it was amazing. The Uni is very organised, no problem with accommodation and student finance is just so straight forward to apply for and get. My DD has opted for private rented accommodation she has her own studio flat, included in the rent is TV and licence, water, internet and electricity. She has all new appliances in her kitchen and a great shower room. I have had experience of shared housing while she was at performing arts college and it was a challenge organising all the utilities between three house occupants. Location is also brilliant with access to Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton nearby and London is just over one hour by train. DD has already been into London to see 42nd street. Anyone auditioning for September 2018 As a parent I would totally recommend Chichester to be on your application list.
Tatasmum
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by Tatasmum »

This is my first post on here. I logged in specially to find out about University courses with student finance.

My daughter is 11 and she says Musical Theatre would be her dream job! I need to start gathering information about all this and also catch up with posts on here about Musical Theatre courses!
Robin64
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by Robin64 »

Tatasmum wrote:This is my first post on here. I logged in specially to find out about University courses with student finance.

My daughter is 11 and she says Musical Theatre would be her dream job! I need to start gathering information about all this and also catch up with posts on here about Musical Theatre courses!
Welcome, there is a lot of useful information and sounds like you have plenty of time to read it if your DD is 11. Perhaps fees will have been abolished by then! I guess your DD is doing dance /drama as a hobby already. Don't worry too much about uni just yet!
chivers61
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by chivers61 »

Robin64 wrote:
Tatasmum wrote:This is my first post on here. I logged in specially to find out about University courses with student finance.

My daughter is 11 and she says Musical Theatre would be her dream job! I need to start gathering information about all this and also catch up with posts on here about Musical Theatre courses!
Welcome, there is a lot of useful information and sounds like you have plenty of time to read it if your DD is 11. Perhaps fees will have been abolished by then! I guess your DD is doing dance /drama as a hobby already. Don't worry too much about uni just yet!
Totally agree with this post. You could spend thousands and agonise over stacking the odds in DCs favour for a course at 18 but it's way too soon. Nothing guarantees a place anywhere. You've got plenty time to play with.
kzgirl
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by kzgirl »

Hi
We have tried private performing arts college and Uni now and I would thoroughly recommend Uni. It is a complete myth about not getting the contact time and just so much easier with student finance and less stressful.i cannot recommend Uni enough.
jennifer1972
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by jennifer1972 »

There are many debates about this on this forum. I think that the problem that unis have had, has been to do with contact hours, which in some cases were just too low. I think that with the new Spotlight guidelines, some of them like Chichester seem to be stepping up and taking this on board. Another important point is end of term showcase. If unis can offer this, then their graduates have a better chance of getting signed. I have to say though, that a lot of them seem to fall quite short compared to the drama colleges. If it's a performance related career that you are after, rather than a performing career then a uni can offer you that.
chivers61
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by chivers61 »

jennifer1972 wrote:There are many debates about this on this forum. I think that the problem that unis have had, has been to do with contact hours, which in some cases were just too low. I think that with the new Spotlight guidelines, some of them like Chichester seem to be stepping up and taking this on board. Another important point is end of term showcase. If unis can offer this, then their graduates have a better chance of getting signed. I have to say though, that a lot of them seem to fall quite short compared to the drama colleges. If it's a performance related career that you are after, rather than a performing career then a uni can offer you that.
I would agree with you. The Unis still have some way to go in terms of proving that they get students signed with agents which is the key to getting performing roles. If your end game is a performing related career then I'm sure Uni will be just great. It's not just about contact time but about the quality of the teaching staff too and how current they are. Also it will vary very much from Uni to Uni so you can't say that you recommend Uni kzgirl. You can recommend Chichester but no more. There are numerous examples of Unis clearly cobbling together courses over the last few years in order to jump on the gravy train. They will not get you on stage. And before it get pounced on I fully accept that is not everyone's end game. Some Unis, as mentioned above, are clearly lifting their game in order to meet the new Spotlight criteria.

It would also be misleading to imply that Unis in general are as good as the London colleges. They are not. One or two may be getting there.
Robin64
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by Robin64 »

kzgirl wrote:Hi
We have tried private performing arts college and Uni now and I would thoroughly recommend Uni. It is a complete myth about not getting the contact time and just so much easier with student finance and less stressful.i cannot recommend Uni enough.
UCAS and student finance for the normal fees available for degrees at GSA, Bird, Central (I think) and probably some others plus halls accommodation available. I think its best to look around and see what suits an individual. It depends on what you want. For DD it's top school or bust. If it doesn't work out then we will have a re think. My reason for this is just how competitive it is and that the top schools are training a lot of students. There just is a pecking order as there is for unis for other subjects. That does not mean you can't succeed wherever you go and I have no doubt students have a great time at Chichester and elsewhere. We are being ruthlessly realistic.
kzgirl
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by kzgirl »

I take on board all of your comments. DD has been to a London performing arts college and I can assure you the tuition she is getting at Chichester is no different. She is being taught by teachers who also are teaching at GSA. Chichester does have showcases in London for agents. DD was taught at performing arts college by some very famous west end stars who had been in leading roles, they tend to do teaching between jobs so she did get some amazing tuition so she knows the difference, she is also saying that her teachers at Chichester are as of the same standard. When I commented about I would recommend Uni I am saying that from our experience. I do find that parents seem to think it is second best to the London colleges but I can assure you daughter is not saying that and she has now been to both. We also looked st Birmingham Uni and believe it or not they have 95% of pupils getting work in the industry. Please do not get caught up in the snobbery of the London colleges. I am not saying don't apply for them if you want to but there is a lot more tuition out there equally as good as Bird, Laine, Urdang etc. From my experience all these colleges are a business and a business has to make money. I am also finding that University has more thought to the students welfare whereas a performing arts college just don't care. The facilities at Chichester are of of a very high standard nothing is broken or old and needs replacing. The contact hours haven't changed recently at Chichester as DD says she has spoken to 3rd years as it has been over 30plus contact hours at Chichester for at least two years. This is just an option and the only Uni that does the triple thread course and I don't think it is worth just dismissing when applying for higher education.
jennifer1972
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by jennifer1972 »

kzgirl wrote:I take on board all of your comments. DD has been to a London performing arts college and I can assure you the tuition she is getting at Chichester is no different. She is being taught by teachers who also are teaching at GSA. Chichester does have showcases in London for agents. DD was taught at performing arts college by some very famous west end stars who had been in leading roles, they tend to do teaching between jobs so she did get some amazing tuition so she knows the difference, she is also saying that her teachers at Chichester are as of the same standard. When I commented about I would recommend Uni I am saying that from our experience. I do find that parents seem to think it is second best to the London colleges but I can assure you daughter is not saying that and she has now been to both. We also looked st Birmingham Uni and believe it or not they have 95% of pupils getting work in the industry. Please do not get caught up in the snobbery of the London colleges. I am not saying don't apply for them if you want to but there is a lot more tuition out there equally as good as Bird, Laine, Urdang etc. From my experience all these colleges are a business and a business has to make money. I am also finding that University has more thought to the students welfare whereas a performing arts college just don't care. The facilities at Chichester are of of a very high standard nothing is broken or old and needs replacing. The contact hours haven't changed recently at Chichester as DD says she has spoken to 3rd years as it has been over 30plus contact hours at Chichester for at least two years. This is just an option and the only Uni that does the triple thread course and I don't think it is worth just dismissing when applying for higher education.
I don't think that it's right to say that performing arts colleges don't care. Again, you have had a bad experience of one and can't tar them all with the same brush. Changing the subject slightly, I have heard that Performers are now offering a degree validated by Chichester university for the first time, so that could be a good option for some people who don't want to go down the diploma route.
chivers61
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by chivers61 »

jennifer1972 wrote:
kzgirl wrote:I take on board all of your comments. DD has been to a London performing arts college and I can assure you the tuition she is getting at Chichester is no different. She is being taught by teachers who also are teaching at GSA. Chichester does have showcases in London for agents. DD was taught at performing arts college by some very famous west end stars who had been in leading roles, they tend to do teaching between jobs so she did get some amazing tuition so she knows the difference, she is also saying that her teachers at Chichester are as of the same standard. When I commented about I would recommend Uni I am saying that from our experience. I do find that parents seem to think it is second best to the London colleges but I can assure you daughter is not saying that and she has now been to both. We also looked st Birmingham Uni and believe it or not they have 95% of pupils getting work in the industry. Please do not get caught up in the snobbery of the London colleges. I am not saying don't apply for them if you want to but there is a lot more tuition out there equally as good as Bird, Laine, Urdang etc. From my experience all these colleges are a business and a business has to make money. I am also finding that University has more thought to the students welfare whereas a performing arts college just don't care. The facilities at Chichester are of of a very high standard nothing is broken or old and needs replacing. The contact hours haven't changed recently at Chichester as DD says she has spoken to 3rd years as it has been over 30plus contact hours at Chichester for at least two years. This is just an option and the only Uni that does the triple thread course and I don't think it is worth just dismissing when applying for higher education.
I don't think that it's right to say that performing arts colleges don't care. Again, you have had a bad experience of one and can't tar them all with the same brush. Changing the subject slightly, I have heard that Performers are now offering a degree validated by Chichester university for the first time, so that could be a good option for some people who don't want to go down the diploma route.
I agree that just as you can't say that all Unis are as good as London colleges - which is patently not true - you can't say that PA Colleges don't care. As pointed out clearly your DD had a bad experience at one PA college and she is having a good experience at one Uni. Fortunately she is at one of the few who have seriously upped their game over the last two years. We know of more than one person who in recent years left Chichester because of the lack of contact hours and training. Clearly things are different now. Sadly it's not the case at most Unis where contact hours are low and there is too high an academic content for anyone who wants to have a performing career (which I accept is not what everyone wants). Speak to any of the London colleges and ask them how many students they have/have had who have either already done a degree at a Uni or who started one and bailed.

As for Birmingham having 95% of grads in the industry that is a meaningless statistic. Having some experience of the NSS and how this information is compiled, they will count someone selling ice cream in a foyer or ushering in a theatre as "in the industry".

Chichester has clearly decided to work hard to improve its course and has succeeded but there are not many others in the same boat. I wonder how they justify giving 30 contact hours a week for £9,000 to MT students whilst those on other degrees are probably barely getting 10 hours for the same money. There is clearly a huge cross subsidy going on. Without it the MT course would be making a loss. Whether you like it or not Universities these days are a business just like the London PA colleges. They have to balance the books in just the same way. Try working in one.
lbm1e14
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by lbm1e14 »

jennifer1972 wrote:
kzgirl wrote:I take on board all of your comments. DD has been to a London performing arts college and I can assure you the tuition she is getting at Chichester is no different. She is being taught by teachers who also are teaching at GSA. Chichester does have showcases in London for agents. DD was taught at performing arts college by some very famous west end stars who had been in leading roles, they tend to do teaching between jobs so she did get some amazing tuition so she knows the difference, she is also saying that her teachers at Chichester are as of the same standard. When I commented about I would recommend Uni I am saying that from our experience. I do find that parents seem to think it is second best to the London colleges but I can assure you daughter is not saying that and she has now been to both. We also looked st Birmingham Uni and believe it or not they have 95% of pupils getting work in the industry. Please do not get caught up in the snobbery of the London colleges. I am not saying don't apply for them if you want to but there is a lot more tuition out there equally as good as Bird, Laine, Urdang etc. From my experience all these colleges are a business and a business has to make money. I am also finding that University has more thought to the students welfare whereas a performing arts college just don't care. The facilities at Chichester are of of a very high standard nothing is broken or old and needs replacing. The contact hours haven't changed recently at Chichester as DD says she has spoken to 3rd years as it has been over 30plus contact hours at Chichester for at least two years. This is just an option and the only Uni that does the triple thread course and I don't think it is worth just dismissing when applying for higher education.
I don't think that it's right to say that performing arts colleges don't care. Again, you have had a bad experience of one and can't tar them all with the same brush. Changing the subject slightly, I have heard that Performers are now offering a degree validated by Chichester university for the first time, so that could be a good option for some people who don't want to go down the diploma route.
Yes I'd heard too that Peformers would be offering an accredited degree this year. But be clear on finding. PPA in Guildford have been offering an accredited BA since the Sept 2016 intake but as far as I can see you still can't get an SFE loan for fees and maintenance. Not sure why. It costs £10,500.
bop2thetop
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by bop2thetop »

My DS has just started at LCM (London College of Music) which is part of the University of West London studying Musical Theatre and to be honest we're really impressed so far. They too have an Agent Showcase (Plus several shows) in their final year and looking at how the graduates are doing i would say pretty good. Ive noticed quite a lot of them have Agents and a few are going in to shows. I cant give you statistics because ive got my info from Twitter. They go on to Spotlight and join Equity (vital for getting in to the industry upon Graduation) My son says the teachers are all great and he is really pleased with the contact hours and the lessons so far. I know its early days for us but i just wanted to let you know it might be one you'd want to consider. They focus more on acting and singing than they do on dance so thats something you need to know and wouldnt probably suit a strong dancer.
There are certainly a lot of advantages. They have student finance, student accomodation, free shuttle bus. All these things make it a lot more affordable.
Im not saying its as good as some of the top Drama Schools but i honestly think if you're really good and work hard you can do really well there. A couple of the current 3rd years have been in "Let It Shine" and "The Voice UK".
Everyone has to choose what will suit them but if you're an Singer/Actor i think LCM is a great choice. They have a couple of open days coming up soon too. (And honestly i dont work there...haha :D )
kzgirl
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by kzgirl »

May I just point out I am commenting from our and DD experience, I was just so sad to keep reading that Uni's are not giving students what the performing arts colleges are. I just wanted to let people know that from our experience this isn't the case. I should also like to say that University is also a lot less money again from our experience than a performing arts college. I don't think that University should be written off for Musical Theatre like a lot of people appear to do. This is just from what we have experienced. We also found when our son went to UWE in Bristol to do product design his contact hours was around 30 per week. Which courses only give around 10 hours a week contact time?
Pandora II
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Re: Chichester Triple Threat.

Post by Pandora II »

A lot of academic degrees have very small numbers of contact hours.

The first degree I did, back in the very early '90's, we had 6 hours lectures a week and one group tutorial for an hour each week - so only 7 hours contact time per week. My siblings had a similar experience on their academic degrees.

I switched course and went to art college and there we had a huge amount of contact time - around 30 hours a week and far, far more work to do.
Last edited by Pandora II on Tue Oct 10, 2017 2:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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