A DANCE school in Peebles is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

And, to mark the milestone, it has announced the launch of a new scholarship programme.

The Fiona Henderson School of Dance & Performing Arts (FHSD), which was established in 1985, revealed auditions for the scholarships will be held at the Eastgate Theatre in Peebles later this year.

A Junior Scholarship, worth around £400, will be offered to pupils aged between eight and 12-years-old and consist of additional tuition to the successful pupil, including a monthly private lesson with the dancing school’s Principal teacher and Artistic Director, Fiona Henderson.

A Senior Scholarship, worth around £550, will be offered to pupils aged 13 years and over and consist of additional tuition to the successful pupil with the dancing school’s Principal teacher and Artistic Director, Fiona Henderson.

Both scholarships will be awarded this year and run in 2016.

Fiona Henderson, the Principal of The Fiona Henderson School of Dance & Performing Arts (FHSD), said: “The school has decided to offer two scholarships to celebrate the wealth of dance performance talent that exists within the FHSD school, to its pupil base of around 300 children attending its 40 classes across the range of subjects – Highland, Scottish National, Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary and Musical Theatre.” Auditions for the scholarships will be held on Saturday, September 26, for the Juniors and Saturday, October 10, for the Seniors, both at the Eastgate Theatre in Peebles.

Both successful candidates will be announced at the FHSD Senior Show at the Eastgate Theatre on Saturday, December 19, and the scholarship year will run for one calendar year commencing on January 2016.

The audition process will be formal and adjudicated by a panel of three dance professionals, one of whom will be Fiona Henderson who will lead pupils in a warm up class, short classes in various dance styles offered by the school and a pre-prepared solo dance choreographed and performed by each of the candidates.

All eligible FHSD pupils will receive details of the Scholarship Programme and application process this week.

In launching the programme Fiona Henderson said: “Our 30th year is a perfect opportunity to introduce this scholarship programme which will highlight and nurture talent within the school.”