 Thornton extended her studies by attending the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music on Saturdays, where she began also to learn percussion.At this time she also became a member of the National Youth Orchestra.Having won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, she studied there for 5 years (1990 – 1995), winning many prizes for her harp-playing (including the Julia Leney and Renata Schefelstein harp awards, and both the harp prizes at the Royal Overseas League competition).