Pupils at St Anthony’s School for Girls are following in former resident and prima ballerina Anna Pavlova’s footsteps with ballet lessons.

In honour of the history of the school’s building Ivy House, in North End Road, the girls can now opt to take the extracurricular lessons with ballet dancer, Gillian Winn.

Every Monday the school will host the lessons in its ballet studio which has been restored as a tribute to Pavlova.

Gillian was trained at Elmhurst Ballet School and will now share her knowledge and experience with the girls of St Anthony’s School.

Headteacher Laura Martin said: “We think it is very important to give the girls the opportunity to choose if they want to take part in an extracurricular activity and it is essential that they understand the importance of the history of Ivy House.

“It is wonderful that we can provide our pupils with such a great facility and that we can honour the achievements of Anna Pavlova.”