A primary school pupil from St Neots has won a place at The Royal Ballet School in Covent Garden.

Ben Whittington-Brown has been having private ballet lessons with Yvette Curtin who runs Just Dance and describes Ben, who is just nine-years-old, as a “remarkable and creative lad with exceptional talent”.

Yvette has also learned that following recent auditions, Ben has been cast as one of the leads in the production of A Winter’s Tale at the Royal Opera House as part of the Royal Ballet Company.

“Ben is exceeding all my expectations and is a driven and dedicated student.”

Ben’s grandmother, who was also a dancer, died recently and he was lucky enough to have received the good news in time to tell her.

“The family are so proud of him, as am I, and to my knowledge apart from my own son who won his place 10 years ago, he is the only child in the St Neots and Huntingdon area to have achieved this acclaim so young, if at all.

“To be able to be good enough to gain this remarkable work experience at such a high level is an outstanding achievement as many get into the Royal Ballet School, but very few get the opportunity to perform with the real company on stage at The Opera House on a contract.

Ben is very excited, particularly when he found out he will be having dinner with the cast before each performance. I hope as he grows up he will realise what a wonderful opportunity he has been given.”