My Life: Chris Billingsley, 19, Essex

I always dreamed of joining the London Fire Brigade. But to build up my CV and get through the fierce ?recruitment process, I decided to spend some time volunteering.

The City Year recruitment team came to my college and I immediately thought: ‘I’ve got to do this’. I was chuffed to be offered a place.

My day started by helping run the St Luke’s Primary School breakfast club. I greeted children in the playground as they arrived and made sure they were okay. Having somebody at the gates makes children feel important and was part of a strategy to improve attendance.

We had a big focus on literacy, so once we had the kids settled, we got them all reading. I was assigned to a Year 4 class. My role was to support the teacher by acting as extra eyes and ears. I nudged children if they drifted off or sat next to those I spotted were confused by the lesson. I also worked with a “focus list” of pupils identified as needing extra help.

I loved my class. The kids were funny and a bit cheeky, which was great because they reminded me of me when I was at school. One boy, Johnnie, was just like me. I knew what he was going to do before he did it. He was the class clown who made everyone else laugh.

Johnnie and I are dyslexic, which might explain the special bond we developed. I passed on little tips about how to work things out and ?it seemed to calm him down.

At City Year, I got over my fear of public speaking and it’s made me want to achieve big things.