A TALENTED dancer is getting ready to swap one side of the country for the other after being accepted to a prestigious school.

Struan Cottee has been accepted to the Dance School of Scotland in Glasgow after wowing the selection panel in both a video and live performance.

The youngster will move west and attend school at Knightswood Secondary School, having previously been home schooled by mum Sally and dad Andrew.

Sally said: “He is really, really looking forward to it.

“It has been all for him.

“He just decided since Christmas that he might want to be a dancer.

“He was at the Royal Ballet School Associates as well and it was his teacher there who said if you want to do it then the best route is to go to a school.

“At his age, you really have to put in the hours in classes.

“He is absolutely set on it.

“I thought he was going to audition and not want to go.”

The Dance School of Scotland is the country’s only fully funded centre of excellence for vocational dance and musical theatre.

The school, which is funded by the Scottish Government, is linked to Knightswood Secondary School, where Struan will study.

Struan, along with older brother Alasdair, currently lives between Tyninghame and North Berwick.

The 11-year-old will live on campus, with Sally admitting it will be “a huge change” when her son starts school in August.

However, Sally was quick to admit that the dance skills did not come from Struan’s mum or dad.

Music runs in the family with Sally a clarinettist and Andrew a composer, while Struan is a talented violinist, playing in the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.

Sally said: “He stretches every morning and sometimes his dad does them with him.

“He is horrendously inflexible and he cannot sit up from sitting on the floor.

“Struan likes showing off, how much better he is!”

The youngster has been dancing since he was just seven years old after linking up with the Dunbar School of Dance.

Sally praised Julie Friar, founder of the East Lothian organisation, for her help in not only teaching Struan but also helping with videos and photographs for the youngster.

Julie praised her student and hoped Struan’s success would encourage other boys to take up dancing.

She said: “We are really proud.

“All we want to do is inspire them to take it further.

“He is quite the prodigy on the violin as well.

“He is very musical and obviously took to dancing really quickly.”