TALENTED young Inverclyde performers have secured a top acting accolade with a 100 per cent pass rate.

Youngsters from the Beacon Youth Theatre (BYT) are celebrating excellent results and a flawless record after sitting Trinity College London exams recently.

A total of 135 young people, aged four to 21, received top marks, with a 100 per cent pass rate plus many distinctions and merits.

Trinity College London is an internationally-recognised exam board that has been providing assessments since 1877.

They are designed to help students progress and encourage performers to achieve at each stage of their development and at all levels of competence.

BYT youngsters were split into sections depending on their school year group.

A variety of accolades were achieved from primary one right through to secondary one levels after a series of performances from the youngsters.

There were also recent successes for the off-shoot Beacon Youth Dance Company (BYDC) for people aged 14-21.

Seventeen members achieved bronze Youth Achievement Awards from educational charity UK Youth.

The youth dance and theatre groups were both set up by Greenock’s Beacon Arts Centre when the venue opened last year and both groups are already making a huge impact.

Jill Thomson, the Beacon’s business development manager, said: “Since we opened the doors of the Beacon in January 2013 we have been working tirelessly to turn this wonderful new community asset into an inspiring arts hub for Inverclyde.

“An important factor in achieving this goal was to make the centre accessible and welcoming to our local young people.

“We currently have approximately 300 young people participating in art, dance and drama classes on a weekly basis, and many more attending occasional performances, workshops and summer schools.

“The young people involved in BYT and BYDC have spent the last few months devising and preparing performance pieces that have helped them achieved academic certificates from reputable examining bodies.

“We are very proud of our young patrons, and their own pride was evident in the confident showcase performances they re-staged for their parents, guardians and siblings in the Beacon recently.” That performance was in front of more than 100 people when the BYDC performed ‘Love is a Burning Thing’, a new piece choreographed by Gail Sneddon and the youngsters themselves.

On stage were Alisha Hope, Chiara Hope, Rhona Marshall, Paul Maxwell, Namming Morrison, Joanne Murdoch, Hollie Williams, Megan Yeomans and Rachel Yeomans.

The performance will be repeated on Friday 16 May and tickets are now available.

To find out more about Beacon Youth Theatre or Beacon Youth Dance Company and to find out how to join, call the Beacon box office on 723723 and visit the website www.beaconartscentre.co.uk See today's Tele for full pictures.