A HIGH-KICKING nursery nurse was bringing the world of American-style cheerleading to Renfrewshire in 2005.
Acrobatic Gillian Rocks, 21, was only the second person in the area to open up a specialist training school for youngsters keen to learn the energetic routines.
The Linwood woman launched the Solid Rock Cheerleaders school, showing girls as young as five how to shake pom-poms.
By day, Gillian worked at Moorpark Family Centre, in Renfrew, where her students donned pretty outfits and showed off what they had learned in a dance display for the children.
The students were just back from a trip to Dundee for the Scottish and European Cheerleading Championships, where they put in a good effort against some of the best teams around.
But Gillian was determined to pass on the skills she learned from her 16 years of training to get her pupils into the big competitions in the USA.
She told The Gazette at the time: “I really love teaching cheerleading and I have had an amazing response since starting Solid Rock.
“I have more than 40 girls, aged five to 26, and they are doing really well. My ambition is for them to make it to America, where they have the biggest competitions in the world.”
Gillian had started dancing at the age of five, when she tried her hand at the traditional styles of Highland, tap and disco.
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