THE West Belfast-born actress Geraldine Hughes returned to her roots at the weekend to visit local school children.
The Gran Torino and Rock Balboa star spent time at St Clare’s Primary School on Friday to watch and sing along with pupils and their production of ‘Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’.
The school is involved with the Goliath Trust, which was set up six years ago in Belfast to address educational underachievement in disadvantaged areas of the city.
Born in West Belfast in 1970, Geraldine Hughes grew up in the Divis Flats and attended St Louise’s College, where she fell in love with drama.
At the age of 14, she was one of three children cast by American producers for the 1984 film ‘Children in Crossfire’.
She later won a private scholarship to attend University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Praising the Goliath initiative, Ms Hughes said: “The Goliath Trust is doing amazing work in schools. The pupils I have just seen are wonderful performers. This is a production worthy of a New York theatre!”
Now a resident of New York, the Belfast-born actress is also a long-standing champion of integrated education.
A patron of the Integrated Education Fund (IEF), she was in town to help promote the Lincoln Awards, which she has helpdc create with her husband Conor Allen.
The £1,000 bursary is open to students attending integrated colleges in Northern Ireland.
The awards are designed to support integrated college students who have been accepted for a university or higher education place, and who are experiencing particular financial hardship.
The deadline for applications is Friday June 16. For more information, contact gemma@ief.org.uk.
