With a clear destination in mind, Stockton Riverside College student, Alexandra, has already achieved her ambition.

Working as cabin crew with British Airways Euroflyer, she now gets to spend her working days travelling to some of Europe’s most popular destinations.

It’s no jolly for the aviation, travel and tourism student, who has had to put in the hard graft to get there, juggling the demands of her final college assignments around the intensive training.

Among those to receive their level 3 results this week, she said: “It’s definitely been worth it.”

Setting her sights on one of Britain’s leading airlines during a BA open day, organised by the college, Alexandra knew immediately this was where she wanted to be.

Even with months of college still to go, she said: “As soon as I turned 18, I started applying to airlines.”

When applications opened at BA Euroflyer, she was first in the queue.

A rigorous application and interview process did nothing to dampen her enthusiasm.

When the offer finally came, she said: “It was amazing.”

Now living and working from Gatwick, she said: “It wasn’t easy to leave all my friends and family, but they come to visit, and I am making new connections, so it is all positive, and Gatwick is a really popular airport.”

The six-week training course puts new recruits through their paces, but the 18-year-old from Wynyard added: “Everything from college and the training joined together to give me a better understanding.”

Putting in the extra mile to complete her college studies online after work, her first working flight was to Malaga.

Working five days a week, with a packed summer rota, Alexandra has touched down in the likes of Italy, Ibiza, Greece, France and Rhodes, to name just a few.  The job is everything she hoped for and more.

She said: “This has 100% been the right decision for me. I love it and it is exactly how I wanted it to be.”