YORK student Rebecca Craze took her dancing exams in her stride.

The 16-year-old came out top of the class in a series of exams at the Susanne Naylor Dance School at Riccall, near Selby.

Rebecca, who has been dancing since the age of 10, scored 1,980 marks out of possible 2,000 in the exams - the best performance by pupils at the school.

And in the prestigious Peggy Spencer Award, she scored 99 out of 100 points for each of the eight dances.

A highlight was her dance to the song Hopelessly Devoted to You, (from the hit musical Grease), which she choreographed herself.

Susanne Naylor praised her achievements. She said: "She works very hard. She has been here for years and we are very pleased."

She said she was also proud of the other 100 pupils who took part in dancing exams, judged by the Imperial Society Teachers of Dancing. All achieved honours.

"They have all done extremely well," she said. Students had to perform a variety of different styles including Latin, rock 'n roll, ballroom and disco.

Rebecca, who is taking a diploma in child studies at York Technical College, is from Badger Hill.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Linda Gray is stepping out... out of York and into a place at theatre school to study dancing.Linda, of York, has been attending the Patricia Veale School of Dance in York since she was three.

She has just passed the audition to follow a three-year course at the Merseyside School of Dance and Drama, which includes dance, singing and drama.

And this was just her first try at getting a place at stage school she still has four auditions in the pipeline.

"She's done very well," said dance teacher Patricia Veale. "She's always loved to dance."

The Patricia Veale School of Dance has just received its exam results from the Royal Academy of Dancing, with more than 50 pupils gaining awards.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.