A DANCE school in Ascot has been given a golden seal of approval at a national awards ceremony.

The Vanessa Gardner Academy of Dance, which is based in Church Road, picked up a Gold award at the 2018 Dance School of the Year Awards at a glittering black-tie reception in Devon.

The dance school, which celebrated 35 years in the town earlier this summer, had enjoyed a lot of success recently, having expanded its age groups from Melody Bear classes for children aged 18 months all the way up to adult classes in ballet, tap and modern.

The awards, which were founded by Anne Walker MBE, celebrate the achievements of theatre schools up and down the country who often do not receive the recognition they deserve.

The judging panel for this year's awards included Brenda Last OBE and Terry Etheridge, both of whom have had illustrious careers in the industry as dancers, teachers and choreographers.

Vanessa Gardner said: "We offer a caring and nurturing training of toddlers, children and adults of all ages and abilities in ballet, tap and modern dance. Our aim is to encourage all our pupils to develop a love and understanding of dance and music and to achieve their own personal best.”

Anne Walker MBE said: "Dance teachers should be applauded and celebrated. So much more than just a teacher – they are almost a substitute parent to many of their students as they are role models, mentors and social workers, offering support, stability and a disciplined approach to life. They instil a love of dance, music and theatre which will hopefully turn many students into tomorrow’s theatre-goers if not performers or teachers.

"Fellow dance teachers have supported me in my career over many years and now I hope, through these Awards, we can all celebrate the life-long passion for dance and the achievements of theatre dance teachers everywhere."