Stuart Hemingway, head teacher at Ralph Thoresby School, said: Dean has always been a great role model for younger students. His determination to succeed in a highly competitive business will hopefully inspire others to work with equal energy and focus to achieve their aspirations.

Dean Smith said:

The timing couldn’t have been better for me. I was just over a month away from finishing my A levels, when my agent presented me with an audition for a regular character on a prime time BBC1 drama. After 2 auditions and lots of dreaming about playing alongside such talent as Eva Pope, Katy Carmichael and Neil Morrissey, I got the call one Friday. It was like Christmas morning, such excitement and a little bit of screaming (Mum!) and then the realisation of the hard work that would ensue. I managed to complete my studies and film the opening episodes of the series hand in hand for 6 weeks before having all my energy available to develop a character I had loved playing.  As the shoot went on my workload kept increasing as my character became more and more focal in the storylines. Throughout the process I learnt so much about acting for TV and the experience of working on a professional set. Ralph Thoresby School really gave me the drive to become an actor. The teachers and my fellow students always took an active interest in my acting and the old ‘John Sowerby’ theatre was the venue for what my Dad regards as my finest performance to date. The schools production of ‘Oliver!’ and my part as Fagin won a handful of awards at the local Wharfedale Festival and that was the first time I thought that I might actually be able to make a career out of the hobby I loved so much. Ralph Thoresby, as I experienced first hand, is only too keen in developing and assisting students in whatever they wish to excel in, from helping in university applications for some of the countries most difficult and competitive courses, to supporting dancers, artists and actors in pursuit of their dreams.