A SCHOOLGIRL who took work experience at a modelling agency has just become the firm’s director.

Eight years after taking up a work experience placement at Fresh Agents in Wilbury Villas, Hove, 23-year-old Sophia Egeler bought the company out to become its new boss.

Sophia, who bought the 15-year-old agency in May, was offered a part time job with the company shortly after her work experience stint and is now making big plans for the firm’s future.

She said: “It feels amazing and it’s totally weird writing it and signing things off as a director. “Work experience was a requirement in year 10 when I was aged 15 and I chose the agency because I’d always been interested in performing from a young age.

“Shortly after I was offered a part-time job working through the summer holidays and over the years gradually worked my way up to where I am today.”

Fresh has worked on shoots and commercials with big brands like Lucozade, Walkers, Sky and BT and boasts thousands of junior and adult models, actors and performers on its books.

The agency prides itself on its “ethical approach” to supporting new faces while operating a “fair and honest” trading strategy.

Sophia said: “It’s ever-expanding and more people are joining us every day.

“More clients are finding us and getting in contact and we’re working on a range of different projects, commercial shoots, catalogue shoots and more.

“My plans for the future centre around expanding as much as possible.

“These days a lot of our models and artists are from all across the UK and we send them to castings and jobs across the country, including London.

“We also offer competitive rates with no overheads, which is attracting quality talent.”

Life as a director could not have come without a difficult decision about university studies, however.

Sophia admits choosing to work after her A-Levels instead of divulging in university life proved a wise decision.

She said: “There was a lot of pressure to go to university and further my education but I was so passionate about the industry and working I decided to skip it – and it’s paid off.

“In the future I’d like to develop the company so we can offer professional advice to parents especially about getting their children modelling, because the industry can be difficult to approach and there are a lot of dodgy operations going on.

“From being a work experience placement myself, I now take on work experience people of my own and hope to give others the kind of opportunities I had.”

For more information, visit www.freshagents.co.uk.