Karolina Sotirova was part of a daring acrobatic act with parents Stanimir and Virginia which wowed audiences up and down the country.
As a youngster she would climb up a 20ft pole balanced on her father's forehead to grasp the hand of her mum, who was held on at the top by a strap.
Karolina - who was part of the act until the age of nine - would then perform a series of acrobatic turns and moves.
Dizzying
Bulgarian-born Stanimir, a former international-level acrobat, brought his family to the UK to join the Bobby Roberts circus, where they performed a dizzying perch-based routine.
The family spend several years on the road but settled in Wythenshawe, when mum Virginia insisted their daughter get a more stable education.
Now the proud parents are delighted after learning that their 18-year-old daughter has received two A grades and a B in her A-levels.
Karolina, will study psychology at Lancaster University and hopes to be a child psychologist, used to attend a different primary school each week when performing in the circus.
Challenging
Although she found moving to a city secondary school initially challenging, she managed to adapt to classes.
Staff at Trafford College helped her achieve her goal. She said: "My parents are over the moon as they have always wanted to ensure that I get the opportunities they never had when they were growing up.
"I've met so many people through my life with the circus and understand the pressures of having to study and do well, while not having a regular school life.
"So many children have to travel, work or be carers when they're growing up, and they should be recognised for working as hard as they do to keep up with more privileged students. I'm really proud of what I've achieved and my background has definitely influenced my decision to pursue a successful career perhaps in child psychology." Tweet
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Well Done wish you all the best for your future.You sound like youve worked hard for it.
I honestly wish her good luck for the future. Psychology is an extremely competitive area, and only around 1 in 10 graduates ever achieve a position as a clinician. Working for peanuts as an assistant to a clinical psychologist, is often the only way to go forward. Sadly that option is often only open to the rich and privileged with parents who can support them through this period.
Don't worry about psych nurse's comments. A degree is a tool to doing whatever you want. Skills learnt in a psychology degree can be used in business. Circus girl to multilingual graduate will be a attractive as a story to a business employer.
To Crantock, I read in the article that she wanted to be a child psychologist, a caring role, and a very competitive area, and that was what I was basing my opinion on, and not on her using her degree for some private business or whatever else you were suggesting. If she does that then good luck to her, and I wish her well, I was not being negative. I was only pointing out that achieving a psychology degree to gain a placement as a clinical psychologist, is not a walk in the park.