Branded the 'Classical X Factor', Classical Star on BBC 2 has narrowed its search down to just eight students, including Dublin teenager Sophie Cashell (19). A talented pianist, she has been playing music since she was four years of age and left Ireland to attend a top music school in the UK when she was just 13.

"I never thought I'd get this far, " she told the Sunday Tribune. "I nearly wasn't going to go to the first audition because I was late and got totally lost. But I made it, they didn't seem to mind how late I was and somehow I got through."

Cashell was chosen from hundreds of students aged between 12 and 19 to go through to second auditions, before winning a coveted place in the Classical Star Academy.

So far, one student has been evicted and two more will be leaving the academy this Tuesday. But Cashell's strong performance has marked her out to the judges and it has been strongly predicted she could make it to the finals.

"Living in the house has been really great, actually, " she said. "Two of the girls go to the same college as me, so we get on really well."

Nor did her nerves get to her too much. "I suppose you get used to the pressure of performing for judges in competitions and this has been no different, really, " she said.

The youngest daughter of two secondary school teachers from Balbriggan, Cashell took up the violin at age four before moving on to the piano a year later. Although neither of her parents play an instrument, three of their four children play and Cashell followed her older brother and sister to the Yehudi Menuhin International Music School when she won a place there at 13.

"There are no specialist music schools in Ireland and while I really liked the music academy in Dublin, it was too hard to travel down to practice while attending school, " she said.

"In a specialist school, you have lessons and music all in the one place and it was amazing. My parents worked really hard to get us there, though. I won a part-scholarship and they also worked very hard to get sponsorship for us."

Now attending the Royal Academy of Music in London, Cashell intends to become a full-time pianist no matter what the outcome of Classical Star. "I love performing and as long as I'm doing that, I'm happy, " she said.