The Maynard School sixth former, 16 year old Clare Dawson, has been selected as one of the lucky 8,000 Olympic Games London Ambassadors for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Clare applied to be an Ambassador via the London Ambassadors website, where she had to fill out a detailed questionnaire on why she felt she would be the right person to represent London in 2012. She was then invited to take part in a one-to-one interview as well as a day of team building exercises, during which she had to demonstrate her knowledge of London and her speaking skills.
Clare was successful and will attend training in London later this year. During the Olympics, she will be part of the ‘More London’ initiative, based in the London Bridge area where she will be giving directions and help to the millions of tourists visiting the capital.
Clare said, ‘I feel extremely lucky to be able to be an ambassador for our capital city. The process to get there was quite daunting and I look forward to some intensive training, but it is so worth it to be able to be part of such a historical event!’
Being a London Ambassador isn’t the only thing that Clare has under her belt, however. She has recently been discovered as a talented singer and was asked to sing live on local radio station Phonic FM. Clare’s talent was discovered by her mum who overheard her singing in the shower, and she is now taking singing lessons to train her voice.
Clare, who is studying History, English Literature, French and Classical Civilisation at A-level and plans to go to University when she finishes at The Maynard, has recorded some demos of her voice to take her passion for singing to the next level.
Clare says, ‘I have always loved singing, but I was too shy to sing in public so no-one had ever heard me. I cannot describe in words how I feel when I sing. For me, music expresses the inexpressible and is a great release to the anxieties and fears of real life. It has truly taught me how to feel.’
