Teen star Ioanna aims for international X-Factor glory

By Mary McConnell

A GIRL from Friern Barnet has made it to the final heats of the Greek version of The X-Factor.
Ioanna Protopapa, 16, has made it to the last 16 in the competition after wowing the judges with her voice. She has already seen off competition from more than 30,000 other singers to make it to the final stages of the competition.
Ioanna is currently studying for her A-levels at Woodhouse College in Woodhouse Road, North Finchley, and Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School in High Street, High Barnet.
But she has taken a three-month break from her studies to try her luck as a singer on the talent show, in which contestants must sing every week in front of a live television audience and compete to win viewers’ votes.
Ioanna is also studying for a Greek A-level at Manor Hill Greek School in Barnet Lane, Totteridge. Michael Ellinas, headteacher at Manor Hill, said: “She’s made it to the third round – I think that she will go all the way. She has got a great voice and she’s a star.
“She is currently with her mother in Greece after getting permission from all of her schools to take a break in her studies.
“If she goes far in the competition she will have to repeat a year but she could end up with a recording contract.”
Her music teacher at Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School, Helen Tierney, said: “Everyone at the school is really pleased she is doing so well.
“She is a wonderful singer and I know that she often does acoustic nights in London and has won singing competitions before.”