A TEENAGER has been won an international competition and gone on to gain a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music.

Pianist Sarah Gardner, 17, a student at Yarm School, who comes from Elton, near Stockton, won the classical category of the music industry-backed Next Brit Thing 2012 competition.

Sarah - pictured left - who performed at the Royal Albert Hall as a part of a national broadcast by radio station Classic FM last autumn, beat piano players from around the world to win the award.

But she is even more pleased to secure a place at the Royal Academy of Music. She had to have two auditions, an interview and sit a written paper.

Fewer than one in six applicants are offered a place to study at Britain's oldest music academy, but Sarah received the rare honour of an immediate offer with a much sought-after scholarship.

Sarah said: "The opportunity to attend the Royal Academy of Music is a dream come true for me.

"I was over the moon to win the Next Brit Thing and to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, and I thought nothing could top that, but winning my scholarship certainly has."