My schooldays

MY SCHOOLDAYS: Helen Skelton

Published 22 November 2008

KC helen1Dec I went to Kirkby Thore Primary School, a small rural school with fields all around.

MY SCHOOLDAYS: Libby Clegg

Published 21 October 2008

I am originally from Cheshire and my first school was St Gregory’s in Bollington. I didn’t really like it, I got bullied there.

I was born in Workington and went to Victoria Infant School in the town on Harrington Road, only 200 yards from where I lived, then John Street Junior School, which was later demolished to make way for the town’s first shopping precinct. One of my tutors, Duncan Harrison, suggested that I had a flair for accountancy and introduced me to Herbert Smith, a chartered accountant, and he agreed to provide me with a training contract to train me as a chartered accountant. I think teachers and lecturers are so important in transferring their knowledge to their pupils and students, inspiring them and guiding them towards the career suited to their skills and abilities.

MY SCHOOLDAYS: Ruth Strong

Published 25 June 2008

I went to Hesket Newmarket School, which is no longer there. From Hesket Newmarket I went to Overwater School for my secondary education, a private school run by the Quakers in Fisher Street, Carlisle.I’ve always liked art, doing and making things. I would make things and sell them in the shop.The reason I went back into education was to get more ideas about what I could sell. I was stagnant at the time looking for inspiration and I thought it would be good to learn and pick up a few ideas.

'Dreams are fine but you need to apply yourself,' says Blues boss Ward

Published 25 May 2008

I always wanted to be a footballer for as long as I can remember. I was born into a footballing family. My brother played it and my father was the chairman of a local amateur club.

I knew when I was three or four that I wanted to race

Published 25 May 2008

My first school was Eaglesfield Paddle. I remember my dad got the Ford contract when I was there and that involved going to places like Kenya, Australia and New Zealand.

Don't let others knock your confidence

Published 23 May 2008

I grew up in Renfrew near Glasgow. My dad had a butcher’s shop and my mum looked after the family. My first school was St James primary in the town. I was good at writing stories, they used to get read out in school. I wanted to be a journalist or an air hostess.

I was singled out because I wouldn’t really sing

Published 23 May 2008

I was born five or six miles away from Sharrow Bay at Stockbridge, Tirril. It was a mixed dairy farm and my father worked there. I enjoyed making something and then eating it at the end of the day. We did breads. I can remember, all the girls’ came up and mine was still at the bottom of the bowl.

MY SCHOOLDAYS: Geoff Cox, potter and Potfest organiser

Published 4 February 2008

I grew up in Castleford in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The town was a bit like Workington, a bit rough. My dad was a tailor’s fitter. My mother did various things like working in pea fields.