A Richmond dance school is celebrating another successful year after more than 100 students passed accredited dance and musical theatre examinations.
The Charlotte Jacqueline School of Dance maintained its 100 per cent pass rate during the academic year, with a number of pupils also securing places at prestigious dance and musical theatre training programmes.
Among them is Grace Baker, who achieved Distinctions in both her Grade 7 and Grade 8 LAMDA Musical Theatre examinations after taking the two exams on the same day. She has also secured a place at the International College of Musical Theatre, where she will begin training in September.
Edward Fretwell has been accepted onto the Intermediate Associates Programme at Northern Ballet Academy, having previously trained with Northern Ballet’s Junior Associates Programme and The Royal Ballet School Associate Programme.
Another pupil, Imogen Ball, has gained a place on Northern Ballet Academy’s Junior Associates Programme and has been cast in Ballet Britain’s forthcoming production of Cinderella. She also achieved Distinctions in Tap, Jazz and Ballet after completing three examinations in the same week.
Senior ballet students Isabella Thompson, Felicity Thompson, Lexi Adams and Annabel Stewart all achieved High Merit in their Intermediate Foundation vocational ballet examinations.
The school has also received recognition outside the classroom, with teaching assistant Freya Ball named Young Person of the Year at this year’s Richmond Business Awards. The school itself also won the Customer Focus Award.
Principal Charlotte Turnbull said the examination results reflected the hard work put in by both pupils and staff throughout the year.
“We couldn’t be prouder of what our students have achieved this year,” she said.
“Their dedication and commitment have been rewarded with excellent examination results, places on associate programmes and performance opportunities. To maintain a 100 per cent examination success rate while achieving our highest proportion of High Merit and Distinction results is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved.”
The school will begin celebrating its 10th anniversary in September, with a series of events planned throughout the year before a showcase performance at the Forum Theatre in Northallerton.