A TALENTED clarinettist is celebrating gaining a place at the Royal College of Music.
Nottingham High School student Jake Hinson, 18, will take up his place in London in September where he will begin a four-year undergraduate course.
He said: "I'm really happy to get this place. Absolutely loads of work has gone into this. It's been an accumulation of efforts over the past ten years."
Jake first picked up the clarinet aged eight and reached Grade Eight standard by the age of 11.
He added: "We don't have any freshers events or anything like that. We attend orchestral auditions in the first couple of weeks instead. We get straight into the work."
Jake's father, Nigel, said: "There were only around four places available at the Royal College, so I am pleased for him. In fact, I am proud of both my son and daughter as they are both talented musicians.
"I tried my best to encourage him earlier and he started playing when he was eight.
"I think he liked the appreciation of the audience when they clapped after a performance."
Mr Hinson added: "He has great potential. Jake's progress was pretty dramatic from the offset.
"The highlight so far is probably visiting New York for a series of concerts."
Jake echoed this, and hopes to revisit New York during his studies.
He said: "In years two or three you can go abroad to study. I would love to go back to New York because I enjoyed being there and I think they enjoyed my performances."
