A BEAUTIFUL ballerina has taken a leap forward after being accepted for no fewer than FIVE prestigious courses.

Rachel Ashmead, 17, a student at Elite Academy of Dance in Greenock, was offered places with the Northern Ballet in Manchester, Ballet West in Oban, Edinburgh College, Reid Kerr College in Paisley and MGA Academy of Performing Arts in Edinburgh.

Rachel, who plumped for the Edinburgh course, said: “I chose MGA because they teach you singing as well.

“It’s more performance based, rather than just about ballet. They teach you skills like gymnastics and acrobatics, which are a great asset to have.”

The teenager has been dancing since she was two and has been working with local teacher Julie Gunn at Elite for four years.

She is also a member of the schools associate programme Ballet Alba.

Rachel’s aim is to work on cruise ships or star in musicals in London’s west end.

She said: “I love ballet and training with Julie. If you have a bad day, you can come here and be who you want to be and you can put your personality into your art.”

Rachel also attends jazz dance classes and trains twice a week at Elite to perfect her craft.

She said: “It’s all very exciting. I can’t wait until the time when I wake up in the morning and my day will be dancing instead of school!”

Rachel lives with her mum Kate, 48, and dad Paul, 49, and has two older brothers and two younger sisters.

Sibling Megan,13, is following in her footsteps, and is also a promising student at Elite.

Kate said: “We’re very proud of Rachel. She has given up a lot to get to this point. A lot of time and effort goes into this both from her and her dance teacher. Anyone pursuing ballet has to be as committed as a pupil.

“I would definitely recommend Julie and the school. It is very professional and very nurturing.”

Julie said: “It is really difficult to get a place on these courses, so it is a huge achievement that she has had offers from all of them.

“Rachel is a really beautiful dancer. She has a lovely performance quality. You can tell she loves ballet and is dedicated to the discipline.

“She has a very bright future ahead of her.”