Seventeen-year-old Bethany Thornton has taken the first step towards a West End stage career.

Bethany – a former student at Allerton’s Spotlight Stage School – will begin a three-year course at the Hammond School in the autumn.

While at the prestigious Chester-based institution, which has seen many former students go on to enjoy successful stage careers in the UK and abroad, Bethany, of Guiseley, will study for a professional dance qualification.

Proud dad Timothy Sedgewick Thornton said: “Bethany started stage school when she was four.

“She has performed with the English Youth Ballet and is a qualified teacher in tap and modern dance.

“I am very proud of her. She hopes to make a career for herself on the West End stage.”