Educating Cardiff head: from 'low aspirations' to inspiration

The head teacher of the school featured in Channel 4's new series Educating Cardiff has told 5 live how she was inspired to become a teacher, despite leaving school with no qualifications herself.

Joy Ballard said she was "brought up in deprivation" with an "alcoholic father", and had low aspirations. She was married at 14 and had three children by the age of 21.

She told Afternoon Edition that she decided to try her hand at writing a Mills and Boon novel, but when she found she needed help she enrolled at a local college and was "bitten by the learning bug".

Joy went on to become head teacher of Willows High School in Cardiff, which features in C4's latest documentary series.

This clip was originally broadcast on 5 live Afternoon Edition on Monday 25th August 2015