Leeds GCSE student starts undergraduate studies at 16
Co-op Academy Leeds student, Tre’von Gibson, is following his dream of becoming a professional dance performer after accepting a scholarship at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
Tre’von lives in Leeds with his parents and two siblings. He started dancing at the age of 7 and continued to develop a passion for performing arts on the Centre for Advanced Training at NSCD while studying at Co-op Academy Leeds. Now, he’s about to start his undergraduate studies at NSCD, two years early at just 16 years old.
Today Tre’von is celebrating his GCSE results, having achieved 8 4-7s, and a Distinction in Music.
On being asked when he first came to love dance, Tre’von said:
“I can’t remember specifically, but I guess I’ve always been surrounded by dance and music in my family. My Mum sings and my Dad makes Rap music. I started dancing in primary school 9 years ago and I went to RJC Dance in Leeds – a club where my cousin teaches.”
Teachers at Co-op Academy Leeds helped nurture Tre’von’s talent, encouraging him to develop and grow. From age 11 to now, Tre’von has choreographed and performed in all the main school shows from Hairspray to Seaweed and Beauty and the Beast.
Even during the pandemic, when all learning was taking place at home, Music teacher Sharleen Shaw, delivered a guitar and keyboard so he could keep practising and developing his skills:
“We knew that resources in school wouldn’t necessarily be available at home, but it was so important to us that students could continue practising and not be hindered by the lockdown.”
On being asked about Tre’von, Sharleen said,
“It’s been a pleasure to teach Tre’von. He’s brilliant and takes on everything like a sponge, always developing his skills and guiding other students to do the same. He takes the lead on building harmonies, has led rehearsals as young as age 11 and even now is coming back into school, in his own time, to teach dance for our next performance – Beauty and the Beast.
He’s simply a shining star. You know there’s something special about Tre’von. Although he’s very modest and still doesn’t realise how good he is, you can sense the love and passion there.”
Tre’von was on the Centre for Advanced Training Scheme at NSCD before applying to study dance full time at Higher Education level. Due to his talent, Tre’von was successful during auditions and is skipping level 3 to go straight to level 4 and do a CertHE in Contemporary Dance. One day he hopes to work for Northern School of Contemporary Dance as a performer.