A RECORD number of students from Priestley College are on the road to stardom after securing places at the country’s top performing arts colleges.

And the 31 teenagers who secured places at prestigious drama schools were helped on their way by showbiz secrets from past students.

Head of performing arts Sarah Graham said: “It is a case of success breeds success. Former Priestley students who have gone on to study at these prestigious theatre schools have returned to help the 2016 cohort in all kinds of ways.

“They were able to share the secrets of the audition process including everything from how you should walk into the room to what you should wear.”

Class of 2016 students Nick Gartland and Phoebe Williams are two of the hardworking teenagers set to study musical theatre at Guildford School of Acting after they took leading roles in Priestley’s sell-out performance of Urinetown.

Other students are off to study at colleges including Mountview, The Urdang Academy and Trinity Laban Conservatoire.

Sarah said she loved watching her students’ talents blossom: “We could see from day one that they were a talented group, but they would be the first to admit they came to us unsure about how to fully apply their abilities.”

But it was spotting former Priestley student Oliver Ormson on stage in the West End in The Book of Mormon that truly inspired them.

Sarah added: “Seeing a former Priestley student in one of the top productions in the West End was a great moment for them because they left thinking if Oliver could do it then so could they.”