A BUDDING young actress is having her drama exam fees paid by the Learning and Skills Council after she impressed them with a solo performance.

Jodie Taibi, a student at Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, performed a sketch from Educating Rita at the LSC's modern apprenticeships awards evening in the Gala Theatre, Durham.

And the 19-year-old impressed the audience so much the LSC has agreed to fund her London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art exams, which she is currently taking.

Jodie has also applied to British drama school the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) and hopes to get an audition in the spring.

She has also been involved with Stagecoach Theatre Arts - the theatre school that launched Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell's career - for more than five years.

Trudy Hindmarsh, of Stagecoach, said: "Jodie was utterly fantastic at the awards - spellbinding. She had the audience in the palm of her hand.

"She is particularly into serious acting and is very good at it. She has this way of drawing you in to her performance and she is truly amazing."

Jodie, who is taking four A-levels in English, maths, photography and art at the Sixth-Form College, hopes to act with the Royal Shakespeare Company one day.

"I wouldn't rule out TV or film and I would love to do theatre," she said.

"I do prefer serious acting but from time to time I like to do a bit of comedy too."