AN 82-YEAR-OLD has become the oldest person to have ever taken a London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) exam.

Drama teacher Jill Breckon, from Bebington, took her Grade 6 LAMDA exam in November and received the news that she had passed with distinction just before Christmas.

Jill has been involved in amateur dramatics in the borough for more than 50 years and has acted with several societies.

She has even written and directed many plays and has been the wardrobe mistress for the open air Shakespeare productions for the Hillbark Players in Frankby.

On Mondays, Jill offers her assistance to drama classes at the Phoenix Dance and Drama in Upton Village where her former student Alyssa Stott is the school's head of drama.

Alyssa told the Globe: "I've known Jill since I was seven-years-old and I started going to Wirral Amateur Dramatics.

"When I was 17 or 18, I went to college to train as a drama teacher.

"For the last 10 years, Jill has been coming along to Phoenix Dance and Drama to help out with drama groups and never accepts any payment for doing it.

"The whole idea came about when I was entering our students for exams and Jill and I had been talking about whether she would take the exam.

"So I emailed LAMDA asking if there was an age limit on their exams but they said there wasn't one and that Jill could take the exam.

"I said to her, if the students can do it, then so can you but told her to go straight to Grade 6 which is Bronze. After the exam, the examiner asked me how old Jill was, so I told her and she replied 'I hope i'm like that when i'm 82!'

"After a short wait, we received the results just before Christmas and were delighted to find out Jill had received distinctions for her exam.

"I decided to get in touch with LAMDA again to ask if Jill was the oldest person to take part in the exam process and they said yes!

"She was absolutely made up and is working towards her Grade 7 and Grade 8 exams this year."

For more information about Phoenix Dance and Drama visit http://www.phoenixschoolofdance.co.uk/ or email phoenixschoolofdanceanddrama@gmail.com