A talented Barrow pupil has successfully secured a highly competitive national grant from a prestigious performing arts college to support her music studies.
Lily Scaife, a year 10 pupil at the town’s Chetwynde School, has been awarded £300 from the Trinity College London Music & Drama Access Fund, a national initiative designed to help young people overcome barriers to accessing music and drama qualifications.
The grant will allow Lily to begin working towards her graded singing examinations, helping to fund lessons, exam fees and the resources needed to continue her musical development.
Lily, an active member of the school’s Senior Singing Club, said she was thrilled to begin Trinity’s graded singing exams at school.
She said: “Music makes me happy – I don’t think I could do homework or artwork without it because I always have my headphones on. I feel very excited to start singing lessons as a step towards something to do with performing arts in the future.”
Lily recently impressed audiences with her performance as Schlomo in the school’s production of Fame The Musical, where she both sang and played piano.
Nicole Vergel de Dios, music and voice teacher at Chetwynde School nominated Lily for the award. She said Lily’s commitment to the performing arts made her an outstanding candidate.
Nicole said: “Lily has a lot of talent. She’s a self-taught pianist with a fantastic voice and a really good ear, especially for improvisation and picking things up quickly. From the start I could tell she listens to a wide range of music, which is a great sign of her musicality and potential.
“For a show, most students work their way up through the ensemble, but Lily stepped straight into a main role, which is really impressive.
“I wanted her to be able to access the next stage of her music education if she chooses to pursue it and this grant will really help.”
Katherine Parkinson, head of creative faculty at Chetwynde School, which is part of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust, said the whole community was proud of Lily’s achievement.
She said: “Lily has shown real passion for singing and performance. Opportunities like this can make a huge difference to young performers and we are delighted to see her taking the next step in her musical journey.”
