"I never thought I’d do it," a delighted Claire told Call Sign, "I didn’t think I’d even get into Uni at one time after failing my A-level exams. I eventually passed the GCSE exams in English, Maths and Science after originally getting an ‘E’ in Maths and resitting the exam."
   With her usual gorgeous smile, Claire – who is 24 - denied that failing her Maths exam had any connection to being blonde!
   So Uni was out of the question and Claire tried to get into Teaching School, but they also said no without any A-level passes. So she gave up and went to work in an office for two years. But PE was in her blood and she decided to apply for - and was accepted at - Charlton College and took an Access to Teaching course, which would if successful, get her into University. It was and she did…
   Claire admitted that her studies didn’t come easily to her, but that her love of PE never left her. After three years of taking her degree at University, Claire heard the news that she was not only successful, but that she had gained a ‘First’ – as high a pass mark as you can get!

Claire's smile shows her excitement at getting a degree.

   "I was amazed," said Claire, "I thought that I had failed. But now I am just so thrilled"
   The next step for Claire comes in September when she begins a postgraduate Certificate of Education course at University combined with training at school, which will prepare her for the job she is looking for – teaching 11 to 18 year old kids at a secondary school. Until then, that still leaves Claire the time to continue working part-time at DaC – something Claire also says she enjoys.
   "They are such a lovely crowd here," she said, "and I will be so sad when the time comes to leave…"

Wall Art Surprise At M&O!

Was it a plane? No! Was it a cab? No! Was it a bird! Yes… well, two birds actually!
   Mann & Overton’s Holloway Road staff were recently stunned when arriving for work on a recent Monday morning to discover the sculpture of a brace of crows firmly secured high up on a wall overlooking the cab showroom. The Birds, complete with paint pot and brush in their beaks, looked busy re-decorating the fascia signs at the front of the taxi dealers’ showroom with the message to "burn your car!"
   The artwork mysteriously appeared unannounced over a weekend without anyone knowing anything about it.
   "It was nothing I sanctioned or was consulted about, but if people come to view the birds and end up buying a cab from us, well, that’s fine!" laughed Peter Rigden, M&O’s big chief.
   So Call Sign went in search of the artist responsible for the cheeky monument. Our enquiry led us to the hallowed halls of the North London University where the graffiti artist – known to the world as ‘Bancsy’ for his graffiti efforts across London – is said to reside.
   And was it another Bancsy masterpiece? Yes! And how did Call Sign find out after our stringent investigations? His signature along the bottom of the wall art was the biggest clue…!

© Call Sign Magazine MM4