Hi, I am James and I am 12 years old, - my passion is ballet and dance and I am pretty good at it! (oh and I love playing out with my friends on scooters, football, doing gymnastic tricks, trampolining and getting dirty!) I have dyslexia but love reading Wimpy Kid Diaries and Harry Potter and I am Star Wars mad! I love to take things apart and put them back together again! And it drives my mam nuts! Oh and Lego... love my Lego!

My mum is a single parent with me and my two older brothers, and she tries really hard to do her best for all of us - even though she is a bit poorly herself. She is a brilliant mum and does so much for us and lots of people.

I have danced since I was 5 and I am extremely proud to have been an Associate with Royal Ballet for 3 years (until mum could no longer afford the travel and expenses) and Elmhurst (2 years and was offered a 3rd year but we moved) and I was offered a full time space at Moorlands Elite Ballet School (for which there were no bursaries or scholarships and it is a school that the government funding doesn't cover).

Hi - this is James Mum...

The reason we have set up this page is due to a 3 year period of where our lives were turned upside down and it was an extremely difficult period for all the family. Sadly, the situation not of our making, resulted me losing my business and only source of income, eventually our home and then having to relocate and end result of long term ill-health for two family members. We are struggling (yet slowly slowly we will) to get back on our feet, however our financial situation is one that leaves no room for any extras - such as ballet lessons and costs. Consequently, James dancing is one of the things I am now having to seriously consider him stopping as our budget does not allow for this.

James has always loved his dancing since the age of 5 when he attended a class with me one evening. I am extremely proud of him, he has demonstrated a dedication and discipline beyond his years and during our time of adversity, dance was his rock. He was offered and took up spaces with the outreach programmes of The Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet school for 3 years. Additionally he was offered a full time vocational space at Moorlands Ballet school, however there were no scholarships or bursaries available (and government funding only covers the 4 big schools)

After we moved, we sourced a fantastic dance teacher who is extremely supportive in the East Sussex area.

He really would like to continue with ballet training with an aim to take it further.

We have tried applying for funding but there is little out there for children of my son's age and certainly nothing in order to help with regular weekly lessons etc, even for talented children, even for those in disadvantaged circumstances.

It goes without saying that I am extremely proud of my young son.

From Both of Us:

Thank you for donating or sharing my page. Anything donated will go to help pay for my weekly classes (I need about 2-3 hours a week and I have a fantastic teacher), travel expenses

and kit and ballet costs and auditions etc

In return, I promise to keep practising and working hard and reaching for the moon.

To raise some money would mean a lot to me because I could carry on dancing and i can help my mum to and not worry her about letting me down. Mum never asks for anything for herself and I just want to help a bit the way she helps me.

If you could spare £1 or just share my page we thank you from the bottom of our hearts

Thank you for reading my story