BBC viewers praise Millennium 7 Up contributor


A woman who appeared on the Millennium 7Up series has been praised by BBC viewers after revealing that she avoided a career in law to teach children from “difficult backgrounds”.

Courtney, from Liverpool, first appeared on the documentary project – which catches up to each of its subjects every seven years – at the turn of the millennium, where she dreamed of traveling the world.

At 14 she still hadn’t traveled further than Devon, but at 21 she was studying law at the University of Liverpool, learning new languages ​​and traveling to Europe and Israel on vacation.

Now Courtney has decided not to pursue a career in law and instead works as a teaching assistant and is training to teach students with special educational needs at a school in Wigan – insisting she wants to be a role model for children from “underprivileged” backgrounds. .

Courtney, from Liverpool, first appeared on the documentary project – which catches up to each of its subjects every seven years – at the turn of the millennium. She is pictured, LR aged 7, 14, 21, 28

In last night's episode, Courtney revealed that she decided not to pursue a career in law, but instead to take training to teach students with special educational needs at a school in Wigan.

In last night’s episode, Courtney revealed that she decided not to pursue a career in law, but instead to take training to teach students with special educational needs at a school in Wigan.

Last night, viewers were quick to congratulate the teaching assistant, writing: “Courtney is completely brilliant. The perfect young teacher.

‘# 28up Loved Courtney. How did I not hear about this program until today? Another said.

A third said: ‘Love Courtney on # 28up, wish I was more Courtney in my twenties. A wise woman. ‘

“I have always strived to be the best I can be,” said Courtney. “Maybe sometimes I put too much pressure on myself.

Viewers were quick to congratulate the teaching assistant last night, writing: “Courtney is completely brilliant.  The perfect young teacher '

Viewers were quick to congratulate the teaching assistant last night, writing: “Courtney is completely brilliant. The perfect young teacher ‘

“But it’s also the fact that I don’t want the context to define me. Not my family strictly speaking, but because I come from a relatively disadvantaged region.

“If they see you as a source of positivity in their life, if they think ‘Miss comes from a difficult background. Well I come from a difficult background but she did something positive so maybe I can too. “It’s the kind of thing I want to put out there.

When Courtney first joined the project she was living in her grandmother’s house in Kirkby, Merseyside and at 14 she still hadn’t left England, but her parents had moved into their own home. In the region.

At 21, Courtney was in college, traveling as much as she could, learning Hebrew herself and learning Mandarin in her spare time.

A calm and self-sufficient student, Courtney shunned the party lifestyle at college, describing herself as a “50-year-old trapped in the body of a 20-year-old” – spending evenings fixing her ironing board instead. than going out to a club.

When Courtney first joined the project at the age of seven (pictured), she was living in her grandmother's house in Kirkby, Merseyside

When Courtney first joined the project at the age of seven (pictured), she was living in her grandmother’s house in Kirkby, Merseyside

at 14 she still hadn't left England, but her parents had moved into their own house in the area.  She said she faced the

at 14 she still hadn’t left England, but her parents had moved into their own house in the area. She said she had faced the “strange torments of boys at school” – but was sure they “would eventually mature”

While in college, Courtney eschewed the party lifestyle at college, describing herself as a

In college, Courtney shunned the party lifestyle at college, describing herself as a “50-year-old trapped in the body of a 20-year-old” – spending evenings fixing her ironing board instead. than going out to a club

Having applied right after graduating for a job as a teaching assistant working with children with special educational needs, Courtney still lives at home – but is saving for her own place and more trips abroad.

“I’ve always wanted to improve myself,” she says. “To better understand the world, I think I have a naturally curious mind.

“I don’t like being idle so much as soon as I graduated, I was up at seven the next day to apply for a job and a bit on a whim I accepted a job to help out. pupils with special educational needs in a regular school.

“I realized I liked it, it just happened little by little and I realized that teaching is the way to go. I feel like I am doing something positive.

‘Unfortunately, you see too many kids who have this’ I’m thick, I’m useless, I can’t do this ‘mindset, when what we’re going to say is,’ We can’t do it yet. to do” .’

At 28, the educational assistant doesn't think she'll ever be a mother and thinks she gets more from relationships with friends than she would with a romantic partner.

At 28, the educational assistant doesn’t think she’ll ever be a mother and thinks she gets more from relationships with friends than she would with a romantic partner.

When Courtney was seven she said that “boys think they are better than girls, but they are not” and at 14 she said she had faced the “strange torments of boys at school “- but was sure they” would eventually mature “.

At 28, the educational assistant doesn’t think she’ll ever be a mother and thinks she gets more from relationships with friends than she would with a romantic partner.

“Life is about finding a connection between what you have to do and what you want to do,” Courtney said. “I think unfortunately if you have things like a mortgage and a family it becomes a necessity and doesn’t necessarily benefit life.

“I can never see myself as a mother, I don’t really feel like it’s for me. I feel like I could have a better impact on a young person’s life as a teacher.

“I find that I get more from friendships than anything else, the good friends in your life contribute more than having a relationship probably would. I don’t think there is one right way to do it, it’s just a matter of what’s right for you.

Episode two of 28 Up: Millenium Generation is on BBC One next Wednesday at 9 p.m.