It isn’t a particularly well-beaten track from Blyth to the great opera houses of the world so Ashleigh Charlton could prove to be something of a trailblazer.

The young soprano has just earned a coveted scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music and has her sights set on a career as an opera singer.

Ashleigh, who is 20, is currently studying music at Durham University where she is president of the opera society.

After she graduates in the summer, she will be off to London to further her studies on the MA performance programme at the prestigious London institution.

Understandably delighted, she says 1,700 singers had auditioned.

“I knew I was going to do my best and hopefully get through the rounds to be considered for a place.

“But they offered me a scholarship while I was there which was just ridiculous. It’s very rare that they do that so it hadn’t crossed my mind.

“After the first audition I had to do an extra audition round in front of the principal and board at the Academy and they were really lovely.

“They heard me sing and we sat down for a quick interview and they offered me £7,000 towards the tuition fees.

“I was speechless and overcome with emotion. The feeling is indescribable. Actually, it was very humbling.

“I was just so relieved and overjoyed that my countless hours of practice leading up to the auditions, but also the years of training, had all finally come to fruition.”

Ashleigh says the scholarship means £7,000 will be paid for each of the two years of the postgraduate course.

“It’ll be a great help because the tuition fees are substantial.

“If I hadn’t got a scholarship I’d have done my very best to raise as much of the money as I could through sponsorship.

“It would have been a challenge but I’d have gone all out for it.”

Ashleigh’s determination would seem to be matched by her talent which has already earned her fans in high places.

At a private event, the Duchess of Northumberland, who hosted it, was so impressed that she offered to provide references. Guests at the event, Sir John and Lady Hall, became her first sponsors, signing a generous cheque to help with her studies.

Ashleigh, who has always done well in music exams and competitions, says she grew up loving music.

“My mum (Julie Charlton) taught me the piano and my father was musical but sadly we lost him just before I was born.

“But music has very much been in the family.”

From the age of five Ashleigh was a member of the Tyne Theatre Stage School in Newcastle, focusing mainly on drama and dance.

But she says her talent for singing was recognised and nurtured at her school, Bede Academy in Blyth.

“I was cast in a lot of roles, including the narrator in Joseph when I was 13 and then Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera.

“Then the headteacher said, ‘Do you want to start singing lessons?’ At that point I started to take it seriously and we found a really good teacher, Sally Burchell, who lives near Hexham.

“She introduced me to the idea of classical singing and opera and I instantly fell in love with it. It came very naturally to me.”

The first time Ashleigh actually saw a professional opera performance was in London.

“Me and my mum were in London on holiday and the Royal Opera House had a matinee of Puccini’s La Rondine (The Swallow). We queued for tickets.

“At that point I was doing singing exams but wasn’t constantly thinking I wanted to pursue this as a career.

“But that was a turning point. After seeing that first opera, because it was so grand and exciting, I made a point of going to the Opera North productions at the Theatre Royal.

“Many of my friends weren’t interested in classical music or opera at all but it didn’t stop me pursuing my interest.”

At Durham University, where Sally Burchell is a vocal studies tutor, Ashleigh wasted no time in joining the opera society and became its president in her second year.

The society puts on three opera productions a year, the next being The Magic Flute in February at the Gala Theatre with Ashleigh singing the part of Papagena.

It would appear to be thriving. “When I joined there were about 25 to 30 members,” says Ashleigh. “Now we’ve got about 75.”

It hasn’t done Ashleigh any harm that Sir Thomas Allen, the famous baritone from Seaham, has been Chancellor of Durham University since 2011.

“I’ve met him a couple of times and he has been really supportive. He’s from the North East and studied at the Royal College of Music.”

Looking even further ahead, Ashleigh says: “After my Masters I’ll hopefully get on an opera course and that’ll be an extra year of tuition. Then I’ll be trying to get employed by an opera company.”

In the meantime, Ashleigh is still looking for sponsors, If you can help, she can be contacted at ashleighkatesoprano@gmail.com