Wilkes

A place to talk about full time schools and post 16 training.

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Upinlights
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Wilkes

Post by Upinlights »

Hi My dd has been offered a place at Willkes . Are there any parents out there with dc's already there ?
islandofsodor
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Re: Wilkes

Post by islandofsodor »

I know a couple of parents whose children have either gone there & graduated or are there now. My husband is also friends with one of the teachers there & my daughter knows another one of the teachers there.
lyndahill
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Re: Wilkes

Post by lyndahill »

I don't know anyone there but the performances at Move It are outstanding, like many colleges. My only concern would be that they only offer a Level 3 BTEC and over 3 years, something you could do elsewhere for free in 2 years. Just a thought.
dancemom43
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Re: Wilkes

Post by dancemom43 »

I spoke with them at Move it and they seemed very nice. Robbie Williams being one of his best friends is Patron and I lost interest when they could not guarantee me a meet and greet (joking!) x
islandofsodor
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Re: Wilkes

Post by islandofsodor »

I don’t think it’s the qualification in itself but the level of training & industry contacts. From what I gather most Level 3 btecs prepare students to go onto either a degree or Level 6 diploma. Wilkes graduates aim to be industry ready.

I’ve not seen their show myself but dh has & was very impressed.
lbm1e14
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Re: Wilkes

Post by lbm1e14 »

There is another thread on this asking the same question but there are only a couple of comments. Below is my comment for what it's worth.

Don't have specifics I'm afraid but DD has a friend there in her second year, not a close friend, but she does keep in touch with her and she seems to be happy with it. Her friend went there very much as a dancer and not as an MT performer as she had never sung in public or had singing lessons or been In any shows other than dance shows. So she was possibly not typical. No idea how much she has progressed in singing/acting.

Bear in mind that this is a relatively new college with I think two graduating years now. Being in Swindon access to London and agents for showcases is clearly difficult although they do do a London showcase I think. It is no doubt well connected given Jonathan Wilkes and I seem to recall Ant and Dec were/are patrons. So not sure if it's more TV connected than MT.

Also clearly it has a very short pedigree so sustained good outcomes are not there to check, so all you can do is look at the contact hours, quality of teaching staff and outcomes such as they are. Rightly or wrongly DD refused to audition there because it's not in London.
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