Cherie Blair In Conversation With Paddington Academy Students

Cherie Blair, wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, visited Paddington Academy on Tuesday to give an inspirational speech to excited students.

Mrs Blair spoke about her career as a barrister and QC. She gave the audience information about her charity,
the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. The charity was set up in 2008 in response to Cherie's experiences meeting women from around the world and the realisation that, with the right support, women can overcome the challenges they face and play an important part in economies and societies wherever they work and live.

She answered questions about what it was like to live at the famous 10 Downing Street and how she had to
cope with being in the public eye every day. Cherie also handed out tips to aspiring lawyers before revealing how she, despite coming from a poor background, made a success of herself. She studied Law at the London School of Economics and graduated top of her year with First Class Honours.

Finally, she spoke of how nervous she was when meeting the Queen for the first time and how she and Tony Blair went from work rivals to husband and wife.

Sixth Form student Joana Marques had the honour of being introduced to Cherie and said: "She was different to what I thought she would be like and was very down to earth. I found out that she is a lot more than just the former Prime Minister's wife. She is a barrister, charity founder and a dedicated mum of four. To juggle all of those things is really admirable."

Oli Tomlinson, Principal of Paddington Academy, said: “We were delighted to welcome Cherie Blair to Paddington Academy. It is really important for our students to hear firsthand how through hard work and determination it is possible to carve out a successful career. Mrs Blair is an impressive individual in her
own right and her talk will spur our students on to aim high.”

You can read more about this on Cherie Blair's website at www.cherieblair.org