For three years Claire Ashley lived in fear of the school bullies who would call her names and spit at her.

The problem became so bad that Claire refused to go to school and missed six months of her education.

However, after leaving school and joining training organisation Springboard Sunderland, her enthusiasm and determination to succeed has won her a Learner of the Year runner-up award in the city's Entry to Education Awards.

Claire, 17, who lives with her mum, Ann, in Brunswick Road, Town End Farm, said: "I didn't want to go to sixth form college, partly because I was afraid the bullying would start again and also because I'm a hands-on person and prefer doing my training on the job rather than in lessons."

She has now almost completed her foundation modern apprenticeship in childcare and has been inspired to go on to the next level, which is nursery nursing.

She said: "I just love working with children. I am doing my placement at Bexhill Primary School and everyone there is fantastic.

Claire said her problems began when she was a pupil at Castle View School and fell out with one of her friends.

She said: "She started bullying me and calling me names and it just escalated from there.

"Before long there were groups of up to 10 people taunting me, and spitting at me when I walked past.

"I couldn't concentrate in my lessons because I was worrying the whole time about what would happen to me after school time.

"Every morning I used to go out of the house and wait at the corner for my mam to go to work and then sneak back in. In the end it was so bad, I just refused to go.

"I wasn't eating and I lost a lot of weight. I would never go out of the house because I was too frightened I would bump into one of the bullies and I ended up crying the whole time."

Claire said it was a terrible time in her life, but things improved when she transferred to Farringdon Community College in Year 9.

She said: "I was so frightened, but I made a lot of new friends and things really picked up."

Despite having missed quite a bit of schooling, Claire managed to get four GCSEs and then applied to Springboard.

She said: "I just love working with the children. Doing this has given me my confidence back and I have managed to put the bullying behind me."