A REDDITCH family who launched a heartfelt plea to the community last month are looking for one last push to help send their daughter to a prestigious London dance school and fulfil her father’s dying wish.
Chloe Nicol, aged 16, beat off competition from over 1,600 applicants to secure one of 130 coveted spots to study at the capital’s Urdang Academy.
The RSA Academy Arrow Vale student has been dancing since she was four but sadly lost her father Steve Slater, an entertainer himself, to prostate cancer in August 2015.
Chloe’s mum, Rebecca, said: “Being a performer is in her blood, that’s where she gets it from.”
The teenager, who attends The Latham School of Dance in Matchborough, splits her time between mum’s in Batchley and stepmother Sue’s home in Church Hill.
But Chloe’s family needed to raise £7,500 to pay for the course as there is no funding available at foundation stage.
The family have managed to raise all but £2,000 of the bill and have paid a £500 deposit to secure Chloe’s place but still need help to make the youngster’s dream a reality.
“To have to give up now would be heartbreaking after coming so close,” said Sue. “We’ve spent hours researching, writing letters, emailing, phoning and talking to different people who might help. “Thanks to family and friends we have raised the majority but desperately need help from anyone willing to help.”
Chloe plans to hold a fund-raising event in June, once she has sat her GCSEs and is inviting any local groups or singers who wish to perform to contact the family.
She said: “I’ve always dreamed of becoming a professional dancer but not coming from an affluent background makes it very difficult.
“My hard work and talent has got me this far and I don’t want the lack of finance to stop me achieving my goal when I am so close.”
Visit http://tinyurl.com/hs9xfeq to support Chloe and contact Sue on [email protected] for details on the fund-raiser.
