Ello christiana ;)
As I do, I was randomly looking at threads, and came across your situation with your son. (You can tell me to piss off if you like :cool: ) but i'll give you my two cents worth of input.
Your son sounds like a genius :o and although it would be difficult on you to be away from him, and it also would be difficult on him to be away from you, I think you should send him to this school, to nurture the opportunities while he has it. I remember, my parents put me in violin lessons when I was 4, and I thought it was a bit extreme. Sometimes I would hate it because I felt so pressured. But looking back on it 12 years later, I realise that I have been given so many opportunities because of it. And because my parents put me in violin lessons at such a young age, I have been able to learn the piano, guitar and drums with ease. If you nurture your sons talents at this age, it can really lead to great things, and more opportunities. I don't plan to have a career in music, but I am keeping my options open. I want to study law, but I am definitely keeping music there, sort of like a fallback option. Do you know what I mean? If Law or whatever else I intend to study doesn't work out, I always have my musical background to help me. I think for your son's sake, it would do him great benefit too, if you sent him to this music school, because when he looks back on it when he's older he will definitely appreciate it, and it will help him in future career paths. He doesn't always have to go into a music related career, but having the option to have more than one career is always a bonus.
I know alot of my friends now say to me countless times "I wish my parents put me in something when I was young. Even though I would have hated it, I wish they pushed me into something." And trust me ALOT of my friends have said this. If you don't put your son into this school, you may regret it alot later on in life, and you would probably would be thinking about the "should've been" and the "could be's" in life.
Also, if your son doesn't like it, would you be able to pull him out and place him in another school the following year? If so, then maybe you could use his first year as a 'trial' period to see what he thinks of it. If he really despises it, then you could send him back to a different school.
For my first year of high school, I applied for a music school, and I got in. I went for a year, but what I realised, was that because EVERY single person there was gifted or talented in music, they didn't particularly value each person's talent, if you know what I mean. After a year, I left, and went to my local catholic high school. And truth be told, I love it more here. I guess I'm more valued here and people recognise your talents more.
There are always pro's and con's in everything, but overall, I think the best thing for your son, would be to send him to this school, and if all goes wrong, you could always pull him out and put him into a local school.
My parents put my brother in piano when he was five, but he quit after playing for 10 years. He quite simply hated it because he was pressured to do it, and that also isn't the right thing to do. Go by your son's instincts too. He seems like a prodigy already, and if he loves his music, and if he seems keen to go to a music school, then I think by all means, send him.
Hope this helps :) :cool:
-Bonita.