Meet the Leeds schoolboy and talented ballet dancer who has been accepted into two prestigious dance schools

William Roberts has been dancing since he was a toddler and took to it like a “duck to water”, his mum Jane said. Over the years, the dancer has dabbled with many different dance forms, from tap to modern jazz, but ballet – which he began taking more regularly at the age of six – has "always been his true love”.

The mother-and-son duo uprooted their lives and moved to Leeds so William could further his skills at the Northern Ballet. Now, the 14-year-old is working towards his GCSEs while taking private lessons and attending classes at the Northern Ballet.

This summer, the ballet dancer has secured a place at two dance schools so far – The Royal Ballet and Elmhurst Ballet School. William attended the Royal Ballet last year and enjoyed his time there, so is “incredibly happy” to be going back.

Jane added: “He can't wait to be there. It's really going to be good to go back this year and show how much he's improved. The teacher there at the time said ‘He's got excellent musicality’, so it was lovely to hear.”

Jane began a GoFundMe page to help fund these ballet classes and summer schools, not wanting money to be the reason her son can’t achieve his dreams of being a ballerino. Jane said: “It's just me and William on a very low income. I started it last year because I realised that if you want to do well, in the ballet world, you do need to do lots: you need to get extra lessons, you need to be seen, you need to go to the summer schools.

"The travel, the accommodation, even the auditions cost money. It's basically to give him the chance to get all the opportunities and it has made a massive difference. He wouldn't be where he is now without the money we've raised so far. Now we need to pay for the summer schools, which are expensive. And people have been really generous.”

At present, at total of £9,530 has been raised from 206 donations. Jane said: “He’s a very dedicated, hard working boy and he's very grateful for everyone that supported him so far.”