A SCHOOLGIRL who is profoundly deaf has beaten off competition from youngsters across the UK to become a children’s television presenter.

Kym Clearie, from Winsford, went up against hundreds of deaf students to audition for Mission Employable, which is shown twice a week on CITV.

The 15-year-old’s role sees her go behind-the-scenes in various industries, interviewing professionals about their chosen job and finding out about the challenges in each role.

Kym, who attends the Royal School for the Deaf Derby (RSDD), presents the series in sign language with a voiceover.

She said: “A team came into school for the audition and I was given a script and a list of different emotions to express.

“This was last July and I forgot about it for ages. Then in January they got in touch to say I had got the part and I was sent on a training weekend in February where I was taught how to present and given a script to learn and translate into sign language.

“I practised and practised so that everything went really smoothly on the filming days. I was nervous, but as soon as I started I felt quite natural in front of the camera.

“There were 10 people working behind the scenes and it was my first experience of a film crew. I loved it though and I’ve already had some people in school asking for my autograph.”

Kym presented two episodes in the first series and will present three programmes in the second series, which will be filmed over the six-week summer holiday.

In her first episode she spent the day with a firefighter, and in the second she interviewed a farmer.

Helen Shepherd, headteacher at RSDD, added: “We are extremely proud of Kym. We encourage all our pupils to believe that anything is possible and Kym is a shining example.

“She is an active member of our drama group which is currently rehearsing for our summer production of Peter Pan.

“We hope this is the start of a spectacular career on the small screen.”