A STUDENT from Richmond is one step closer to her dream of performing in the West End after winning a place at one of the country's top theatre schools.

Katia Sartini, 16, has just finished her GCSEs at St Francis Xavier in Richmond but has more to celebrate than her results, having earned a full three-year scholarship place to complete a musical theatre diploma which incorporates a dance teaching qualification, at the Studios La Pointe college of performing arts in Garforth, Leeds.

She took up her place on Wednesday.

To secure her place, she had to go through two rounds of nerve-wracking auditions against dancers much older than herself where one of the tasks required was to perform a solo dance routine she prepared herself.

"It's been my dream to go to theatre school, it's always been my ambition," she said. "When I got in, I just burst into tears."

Though she did not think she had got in, Katia obviously impressed the panel with her performance. A dancer since she was three years old, she started learning classical ballet at Richmond Dance Centre and began to study tap and modern soon after.

Katia also attended at the Playcraft Leisure School of Dance, taking classes in disco, Latin American and ballroom dancing and has recently achieved high grades in all aspects of her intermediate ballet tap and modern examinations.

An equally talented musician and singer, she is at Grade 8 standard for both piano and flute and is a member of the Darlington and Dales Youth Orchestra.

She also made the final six for Richmondshire Musician of the Year on the flute.

She is a keen member of Richmond Operatic Society and won first prize for two consecutive years at the Wensleydale Tournament of Song, last year with her flute and this year with her voice.

Katia already has experience in opera, ballet and acting productions on stage, most notably with the English Youth Ballet in their performance of Sleeping Beauty at Darlington Civic Theatre earlier this year. She will move into a house shared with other students at the start of her course this month.

"Singing, dancing and acting are my passions and this is one step closer to me becoming involved in West End shows, which will always be my dream. The college is a wonderful place, the people are lovely and the atmosphere is incredible," she said.