dolcevita:I've heard quite bad things about the school frankly. People I know who learnt from that school told me their teachers come and go and change frequently. In the end 2 of their kids failed their piano and violin exam.
Just noticed this post.
Very interesting what you wrote above. Could it be, the kids themselves were not prepared for the exam? Sometimes, it is very easy to blame the teachers or the school.
I have seen quite a number of the students perform, during their Masterclass there (including some outsiders sent by private music teachers). Frankly speaking, some of them were not ready for the exam. I had asked one of the teachers about this and the reply was that the parents insisted on their child doing the exam. Whether this is true or not, I am not sure. All I know is that the teachers are quite flexible and unlike some more established schools that only allow a student to take an exam when the teacher says so, here they try to accomodate to the parents wishes. I guess that partly explains for the failures. Parents must also realise that once your child signs up for an exam, it is mainly your responsiblity to make sure that your child practices dilligently the last 2 or 3 months leading up to the exam. Without that practice, there's really nothing much that a teacher can do. I know one of their upper Secondary student failed a Gd8 exam precisely because of that - lack of practice due to lack of time. It couldn't have been the teacher's fault cause he was the same one preparing my daughter for the same Gd8 exam.
I recall seeing the ABRSM results sheet pinned up there twice, I think 2007 and 2008. Generally, most students pass. One failure in each exam, coincidentally.
On the bright side, the school produced one of the top 10 ABRSM Gd 8 violin student in 2008. She was invited to perform at the ABRSM top students concert. The school also helped my child perform satisfactorily in her 3 music exams ie Gd3 Practical (Distinction), Gd5 Theory (Distinction) and Gd8 Practical (Merit). These were all achieved with lots of patience from her teacher who had never once raised his voice at her. No doubt there were lots of moments of frustration esp when dealing with a 9yo ,whose head is lost in the clouds many times but he never once lost his cool. I also do know that he has (or had) a student from a wellknown school, who couldn't cope with the lessons there and turned to him for help to keep up with the lessons at the former school.
One unhappy parent with the school does not make it bad. There are many other parents happy with it.