Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown has decided to leave her job as a PE teacher to pursue the "amazing opportunities" she has been offered since the end of the show. To the surprise of her pupils, the 31-year-old had initially returned to her position at the school after winning the BBC competition, but has now made the "agonising" decision to step down.
Speaking to the Mirror, Candice revealed: "My headteacher told me, 'You've got to do this, you can't do it half-heartedly. I wouldn't forgive myself if you missed out. It's not that we don't want you here but you have to give it 100 per cent.
Candice Brown has decided to leave her teaching post following her Bake Off win
"'If we can't encourage our staff to follow their dreams and inspire, then we are not doing our job properly. You are showing the kids that anything is possible.' It was so incredibly lovely of him to say this."
The star added: "This has been such an agonising decision to make. Never in a million years did I ever go into this show thinking this would happen. That is why I have been back at school teaching since I won the final.
"I have been teaching for about eight years now and I love it. But since winning the final, I have also been completely bowled over by the amazing opportunities that I have been offered.
The 31-year-old recently spoke to HELLO! about her time on the hit show
"At first, I kept telling the school I would stay until December but they were so incredible and told me I had to grab everything whilst I could."
Candice recently opened up to HELLO! magazine about her time in GBBO and said that winning had done wonders for her self-esteem. "When they said my name, that means more to me than anyone will ever realise," she said. "I have low self-belief, even though my friends and family constantly build my confidence up."
She also revealed that her pupils had been ribbing her about her appearance. "When I went into school after the final was on TV the kids went, 'Why are you in, miss? You're a millionaire!'" she said with a laugh.
