Sean Batty returns to South Primary for gala day

May 8 2008 Paisley Daily Express

A TV weatherman – whose first job at the tender age of 14 was writing a weekly weather column for the Paisley Daily Express – will return to his roots when he is the guest of honour at his former school’s gala day.

Buddie Sean Batty, 26, presents the weather for STV’s Scotland Today and The Five Thirty Show and will be the guest of honour at South Primary School’s gala day on Saturday.

And he says every Buddies’ favourite daily helped him on the road to success.

The former Castlehead High School pupil said: “I have a lot of respect for the Paisley Daily Express for letting me do the weather when I was at school in 1996.

“Over the course of three or four weeks, I did a weekly forecast and it was really good. I have fond memories of writing my articles.

“Being able to do that gave me a real boost into my career, and I mentioned it at all my interviews.”

The gala day Sean is opening is being held at the Paisley school on Saturday from 11am till 2pm.

There will be all the usual events such as a tombola, raffle, bouncy castle, sumo wrestling, barbecue, bric-a-brac stalls, candy floss and loads more.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue will also be there and will bring along one of the appliances.

After penning his first weather updates for the Express, he went on to work for ITV and BBC weather, in both radio and TV.

He has presented in almost all English regions as well as Northern Ireland and Wales.

And he also had a stint in Air Traffic Control, where he had the nail-biting

job of advising pilots and flight officers on safe routes to avoid severe weather conditions.

Sean, who used to live in west London, left Scotland to study

meteorology at Reading University – but he has been hooked on the weather since the ripe old age of seven, when he got a BBC weather kit for his birthday.

Despite his head being, quite literally, in the clouds he does not like flying.

But he is proud to be a Buddie and loves coming back home to Scotland to ski.