HIGH-flying young pianist Chantal Osindero has been given a national award for her musical studies.

Chantal, 16, has been playing piano for eight years and her ambition is to become a classical pianist.

Home-educated from September 2002 until January 2011, she has just finished her GCSEs at Sandringham School in St Albans.

Chantal studies piano with Kasia Borowiak at the St Albans Music School and the Junior Department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she is also a member of the Chamber Choir and a (chamber music) trio.

She has won prizes at numerous festivals including the President’s Cup at the North London Festival of Music 2011 and first prizes at the Watford Festival of Music and Jacques Samuel Junior Department Piano competitions.

She was also a finalist in the 2011 Lutine Prize competition at the Junior Guildhall and gained second prize in the 2011 Rickmansworth Young Musician of the Year competition.

Chantal, who also gives piano recitals in St Albans, received her national award from AYM – Awards for Young Musicians.

She was among 123 outstanding musicians to win the award in the form of a grant of up to �2,000 each year to exceptionally-talented young musicians aged between five and 17.

Hester Cockcroft, AYM dsirector, said: Once more we’ve had a very high number of applications for support from young musicians from across the UK so Chantal should be very proud of her achievement in gaining an award.