Hit me baby one more time! Schoolgirl Christine Bleakley squeezes back into her uniform to revisit her alma mater

By Emily Sheridan


Back to school: Christine Bleakley gets back into her old uniform as she returns to Bloomfield Collegiate school for a Daybreak segment


Her celebrity lifestyle is a world away from her humble beginnings growing up in Northern Ireland.

But Christine Bleakley showed she hasn't forgotten her roots as she returned to her old school.

The 32-year-old slipped back into her green skirt, blazer, tie and knee-high socks and white shirt to visit her former teachers at Bloomfield Collegiate girls grammar school in East Belfast.

Favourite subject: Bleakley chats to two students during an art class, one of her A level subjects


Although this time, Bleakley's uniform was accessorised with her £120,000 diamond engagement ring from footballer fiancé Frank Lampard.

As part of Daybreak's Back To School week, Bleakley relived memories with her school teachers, sang in the choir and played a game of netball.

Speaking to students during the assembly, she admitted it felt 'really odd in a short skirt and tie and socks again. I haven't done a tie since the day I left school.'

Her return to the grammar school comes 14 years after she left with three A levels in Art, English Literature and Government and Politics.

Spot the 'student' on the multi-million pound salary? Bleakley, front row second from right, returns to the choir she sang in all those years ago but this time she needed a song sheet

How about a bit of Baby Baby? Bleakley sang the Amy Grant hit at the school's end-of-year concert in 1991


Returning to her art class, she admitted she spent 'hours and hours' in the room and 'really loved it, loved every second of it'.

Her art teacher Mrs Shearer stunned the presenter when she revealed a collection of her paintings were still hanging on the wall.

Mrs Shearer recalled: 'She was very happy and very friendly and very bubbly. She had lots of curly hair and was sometimes late to class because she couldn't get her hair fixed.'

Bleakley said: 'I have seven years of happy memories of this school; the smells and sounds are exactly the same as I remember them, as is the real caring family atmosphere.

One of the gang: Bleakley, centre left, with pupils at the Northern Ireland school. She was a popular student at Bloomfield and was named head girl


'It is a warm and happy place to be, exactly as I remember it.'

A former head girl at the all-girls grammar school, the presenter was also a member of the senior choir when it featured on Ulster TV's School Choir Of The Year.

When she was 11, she sang Amy Grant's Baby Baby at the end-of-year concert.

During the Daybreak segment, she proved quite the dab hand on the netball court as she played in 'goal attack' and scored a goal.

Here you go Frank, you're not the only sporty one! Bleakley struts her stuff on the netball court

Action: Bleakley proved a dab hand at playing on goal attack

She shoots, she scores: The future Mrs Frank Lampard celebrates after scoring a goal

She enthused: 'For me, it was all about netball. I loved it. I was goal attack. Bit of movement, bit of shooting.

'I haven't played for more than 10 years so I'm guessing I'm a little bit rusty.'

The school's former headteacher Dr David Neill recalled: 'I remember Christine as an outstanding pupil and Head Girl, who loved English and art and regrettably hated my subject, chemistry!

'We are very proud of her achievements and her warm personality and community spirit demonstrates the ethos of the school.'

Even though Bleakley was a head girl, she insists 'I wasn't a goodie two shoes.'

Current principal Darrin Barr was thrilled to see their famous alumni returning to the school: 'All the staff and pupils had a great day being involved in filming the piece, and we hope that Christine will return to school again soon.'

He introduced Bleakley to the students by admitting there was a 'slightly older pupil' amongst them before calling her to the stage in the assembly hall.

Head girl: Despite her prestigious position while she attended the school, the presenter insisted she 'wasn't a goodie two shoes'


Where it all began: Bleakley reminisced about her schooldays as a happy time


source:dailymail