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Toni Elkinton: Meet the reformed Wortley High School pupil
Wortley High pupil Toni Elkinton admits she was a teenage tearaway. She used drugs and skipped school regularly but decided to change.
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She was a rebellious child, she says, and by the age of 10, she was taken away from her mother and placed in foster care.
Then, when she was 14, her mother, Dawn, her only parent after her father left when she was just a toddler, died of cancer. It happened about a month before her 14th birthday.
"I was heartbroken," said the 16-year-old. "I didn't used to get on with my mum at all but she was my only parent. My mum and dad split up when I was young and I had no contact with dad."
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Toni sank into depression and regularly took drugs, including cannabis, cocaine and sleeping tablets. When she did attend school, it was not to sit in lessons but to see her friends or vandalise toilets.
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She said: "I used to walk down the corridor and people would just part on either side. I used to think that was great."
However, in her final year at school, she had an epiphany and decided she needed to make a change. She went on to gain 10 GCSEs and an award: the Prince's Trust Educational Achiever 2008.
Toni, who now lives in Wakefield, has been now helping The Prince's Trust to launch this week's first national Youth Week, which aims to promote the positive contribution young people make to society whilst celebrating their achievements.
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"The one thing I could not live without would be my friends and family. They have helped me through a lot. Without them I wouldn't know where I'd be. I have two sisters, one older, one younger and an older brother.
"Since I was put into care I have been with so many foster families I have lost count. I have basically been with practically every foster carer in Leeds. The foster family I have now is so supportive.
"My first job was working in a launderette, doing people's laundry at Farsley Bubbles. I remember once coming across this massive pair of knickers which looked really funny.
"I am most proud of the fact I have come off drugs without much help. If you put your mind to something, you can do it. I just made a decision one day that I wanted more out of life.
"I want a family, I want kids and I want to give them a better start in life than I've had and you can't do that if you're taking drugs and don't have a job or a home.
"The best thing about Leeds is that I know if I come over here I am guaranteed to have fun wherever I go. I'm from Leeds so a lot of my friends live here. I love coming to Leeds.
"To relax I listen to bassline music. It's like a whole genre of music which has sub-genres within it.
"My childhood was pretty rough, really. I misbehaved a lot, I didn't get on with my mum, that's why I was taken into care. I used to go to school but I would sit in the toilets smoking cannabis or causing trouble.
Then I started believing in myself and that's when things changed. I know I've won this award but really, what I wanted to put across to other kids was what I have been through, which was pretty bad, and say that if I managed to come out of it, they can too.
"The best piece of advice I have ever received was from a man who told me to keep my chin up. He said if you look confident, you are confident and when you are confident you will go far.
"The last time I cried was when I went to get my GCSE results in August. I did not think I would get any of them but when I opened the envelope, I saw I'd got 10.
"My philosophy on life is everything happens for a reason and there's always light at the end of the tunnel. When something bad happens, don't panic, because it might lead to something good happening.
If I could meet anyone living or dead it would be Bob Marley, because he's an ace singer. Every single he made had meaning to it and I just love his music.
"Something which might surprise people is that I'm not as awful as I look. When I walk round I know I sometimes look like someone you might not want to talk to but inside I'm not awful.
"My joke is: there are two peanuts walking down the street. One was a salted.
"My first love? This is really embarrassing. It was a lad I grew up with on the Aviarys in Armley. I think I was eight or nine at the time. I hope he doesn't read this."
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Weather for Leeds
Tuesday 22 May 2012
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