I’ve been lurking in the shadows but thought I could add my experience to this question.
My Dd also started ballet several years ago at age 10, although she had done a small amount of non graded jazz type of dance for fun before this..
She was placed in a grade 3 RAD class that had just moved up from grade 2 so that the other girls were closer in age to her and this seemed to work well, although I’m sure it must have been hard work for the teacher to start with. I’m not saying this is the right way to start, just what happened at this dance school and it seemed to work for us.
She also started modern and tap.
She absolutely loves ballet but it would have been hard work to catch up with the girls who were already going down the vocational route. These girls had been dancing for several years and did intermediate foundation and extra private lessons. She did however catch up with the girls in her group.
My advice would be that with a really good teacher and a dance school that provides the right opportunities it is possible, but keep an open mind. My daughter realised she’s not going to be the level to make a career out of it, but there has been lots of fantastic opportunities and personal qualities gained from the training she has had. She’s a good dancer and hopefully will continue to dance even though she is not going to make a career out of it.
I wish your Dd good luck and hope she continues to enjoy dancing!
