From ballet and cruise ships to teaching assistant: Why Claire has gone back to classroom at 51

A former dancer is training for a new career. Claire Park is studying to become a teaching assistant. She is 51 and attends Darlington College. Claire started dancing when she was a child. At 16, she joined the Northern Ballet School.

She danced on a cruise ship for eight years, sailing around South America and the Caribbean. For ten years, she worked as cabin crew. After having three sons, she taught aerobics. She then became a receptionist at Carmel College and applied for the TA apprenticeship there.

Claire enjoys spending time with students, which led her to choose the TA pastoral route. She already knew the staff and the school’s ethos. This existing familiarity ensured a smoother transition for her into the role.

Claire loves Carmel and hopes to stay there, aiming to become an emotional literacy support assistant. She enjoys both classroom time and providing one-on-one support. Mental health support for pupils is particularly important nowadays. This work, she believes, will be very rewarding.

Ethan Ramsey is also a student. He wants to give back to his school, which helped him with learning and autism. Ethan was diagnosed with autism in Year 4.

He attended seven different schools, struggling significantly. Then, his family settled in Darlington, and Ethan went to Beaumont Hill school. He started to enjoy school and wanted to give something back, having received his GCSEs thanks to Beaumont Hill.

The school offered him a TA placement, which was ideal as he already knew everyone and could be himself there. Teachers treat him like a colleague, making the transition surprisingly easy for him.

Owen Saunders chose Darlington College, finding it better than university. He had studied sports management at university, but became distracted and subsequently left.

Now he is a TA apprentice at Longfield School and finds it an amazing experience. Seeing children progress is very rewarding for him. He used to game until early morning, disrupting his sleep schedule. Now, he sleeps early and feels much better. Apprenticeships are a good way to earn as you learn.

Grace Wardell also chose an apprenticeship. She is working at Hurworth School. She is developing her interests in pastoral care and also has an interest in special needs.

Grace said that the apprenticeship is going really well and she likes it very much. She finds that they see more signs of delayed development in children and can identify more children with difficulties. This area of support, she believes, will likely grow.