A profoundly deaf 16-year-old from Royston has been selected by the National Deaf Children’s Society and leading deaf professionals from the arts industry to showcase her talent on stage.

Finalists, including Chloe Reed, have now been invited to attend a mentoring weekend in June where the newly found Raising the Bar stars will work towards a live showcase.

The Raising the Bar competition was developed by the National Deaf Children’s Society to drive expectations of what the 45,000 deaf children and young people in the UK can achieve.

Chloe, along with 24 other deaf young people, was selected by leading deaf professionals from the arts industry for showcasing exceptional talent in drama.

Now they have selected their winners, Mark Smith, acclaimed deaf choreographer and artistic director of the all-male dance company Deaf Men Dancing will be leading the dance masterclass, co- founder and artistic director of the Deafinitely Theatre – Paula Garfield – will run the drama masterclass, and Danny Lane from Music and the Deaf will host the music masterclass. The showcase will take place at mac birmingham in June.