My teacher says i can skip grade 2 for my violin, but i'm not sure. should i?

I think you should be guided by your teacher. He / she is the one who best knows how well you play.

skip it!

skipping it does not mean you don't learn, you can still learn guided by your teacher, taking each grade is not necessary (usually anyway), so unless you have a personal desire to have each award on your wall then it doesn't matter

Everyone has different goals/reasons etc, myself I said to myself I'd get the certificate for grade 1, 5 and 8, no reason whatsoever, it's just 'what I fancy' done grade 1 with distinction, I keep 'chickening out of grade 5' but will do it 'eventually' LOL

I think if you are confident and you teacher thinks so too, why not? Anyway, grades are stressful. Skipping will save you time and money

That's why I'm not taking any at the moment. The CFS means that I'm meant to be avoiding stress so although I'll work towards exams I won't take any unless or until I feel better. I suppose we all have different reasons for whether or not we take the exams.

I skipped my Grade 2 (violin) at my own request because I thought it would take unnecessary time to practice 3 pieces to exam standard, that I could be using to get on and learn more advanced stuff (like vibrato and third position.) I did learn all the scales and the required pieces, but I just did a mock exam with my teacher and then went on. It saved me one lot of exam stress as well, although maybe each time you do an exam you get a bit more used to it.

I WISH!!!

I don't think I have ever known anyone do every grade exam. It can slow your progress down if you keep taking time out to prepare examination pieces, as you might be ready to go 8 weeks before the exam date and you have to keep things ticking over. If you want to have something you can pin down as an achievement standard then why not broaden your range such as entering festivals and other performances which have a shorter entry date so you can play a piece for a significantly shorter time-frame and also you can pick from a greater range of repertoire.

Personally I think I took grade 1 but I can't actually remember, I definitely did grade 3 and 4, then grade 5 theory, then changed to viola and took grade 7 and 8 - one year after grade 4 violin! It was the instrument for me.

The only piano grade I ever went for was 7, and flute I only took grade 6, though not with ABRSM, it was an Army TEQ3, but the music is taken from ABRSM grade 6 syllabus. I am considering going straight in at 8 on treble recorder, perhaps with Trinity Guildhall, though, so I don't need do all the other tests over again since I know I can do those on viola.

Your teacher knows where you are at, and if you are just looking for a sense of your standard then you can always get a statement. Things like orchestras that say from approx grade x will nearly always take a teacher recommendation.