Preston, South Ribble and Leyland news, ,what's on, traffic, weather plus Preston North End latest

Seven year olds look to future

From the Bolton Evening News, first published Friday 14th Apr 2000.

A GROUP of seven year olds, including two from Bolton, will feature in a BBC documentary tonight called Seven Up 2000, talking about their hopes and plans for the future.

BEN reporter GAYLE McBAIN and photographer SEAN WILTON went along to a Heaton primary school to talk to eight year two and three pupils to find out what they thought they would be doing in seven, 14 and 21 years' time.

Here is what the seven year olds from St Thomas of Canterbury RC School, in Eastbourne Grove, had to say. MATTHEW Cleary likes being seven, but when he's 14 he'll be able to make his mum a cup of tea.

He has very definite ideas about what he'll be doing when he's 21. Matthew says: "When I'm 21 I may be playing for Manchester United, I'll be playing midfield. I'm a good player.

"If I'm not a footballer I'll be an astronaut, but I'd have to move to America, or somewhere like that.

"I'm going to get married when I'm 21. If I join the space programme I'm sort of risking my life, but if you play football it's unlikely you are going to die, so I may be a footballer. My mum thinks I'd be better off being an astronaut because it would be a longer career.

"If I am a footballer, when I retire I can be the coach or manager."

Paige Forrest will be "learning more at school" when she's 14 and "if one of my friends wants me to sleep over at their house my mum will let me".

She says: "When I'm 21 I'll be a singer and I would like to dance as well. I'll still want to live in Bolton because I like Bolton. There are a lot of things to do in Bolton.

"I'm not going to get married when I'm 21, but I might get married when I'm 28."

Lauren Greenough says she is looking forward to being 14 "for a bit of peace". She explains: "I don't get peace at the moment because my mum's alarm clock goes off and it wakes me up. I don't think I'll need my mum to wake me up when I'm 14.

"I'll be able to do things on my own, without my mum holding my hand, which will be grown up."

When she's 21 Lauren will get married. She says: "I'd like to get married and I'd like to have two children and I'd like to live in quite a big house. I'll probably live in Spain or Italy where it's very hot, or America. I'll probably get a job like doing babysitting or I might be an artist. I think my husband will work as an accountant.

"When I'm 28 I'd probably like to move to a bigger house and I might work in a nursery looking after little children."

William Livesey likes being seven because he's old enough now not to hold his mum's hand, and he can reach his basketball hoop "when it's on its highest level".

He says: "When I'm 14 I'll be going to college or university and I'll be able to go out on my own, maybe just going for a run or something like that.

"I won't need my mum to take me to school and I'll be able to take any route I want. When I'm 21 I may be a detective for the police or I may be an archaeologist.

"I'm not going to be married, or I might get married. I might be married when I'm 28, I might still be an archaeologist or if I don't want to be an archaeologist I might be a detective by then, or a policeman."

Victoria Parrish likes being seven because "you can do a lot of things that grown ups can't do, like playing games and tig and football".

When she's 14 Victoria will "just do my work at Thornleigh School, and more grown up things. I might have to stop going to horse riding school."

Chiara Manfredi feels a bit more grown up now she's seven, "more grown up than when I was six".

She says: "When you're 14 you're more clever then. You can swim better, I can only swim now with armbands, but I won't need them when I'm 14.

"When I'm 21 I'll be sort of old. I'm going to go to university and I'll study being a teacher and a vet."

Chiara is looking forward to being 28 "because I'll stay up until 10. I only stay up until eight at the moment".

Thomas Baxendale, who celebrated his birthday this week, says he will be better at his computer games now he's seven. "When I'm 14 I'll be looking forward to being older because it's better to be older. I'll be looking forward to getting married.

"When I'm 21, or 28, I'll get married and I'll have four children. I'm going to live in Manchester and I'm going to do two jobs: babysitting and working at Manchester Airport. I'm going to support Manchester United. I don't support them now, I support Bolton Wanderers." Rona McCrae likes being seven because she's the oldest girl in the class. When she's 14 she will "still be with my mum and I'll go to secondary school. I'll look after my mum then. When I'm 21 I think I'll be at university and I'll be at least 22 when I get married. I'll have a job and I think I'll be an archaeologist because I like the past.

"I'll still be able to be a mum as well. When I'm 28 I think I'll be out in different countries, like in deserts, digging and stuff. I might bring my husband along with me and I might have to move if I'm going to do that, and I'll take my children with me."