For Leader readers, hope is at hand!

Not exactly a school of wizardry but a school of magic is about to open in beautiful, downtown Beverly Hills.

The headmaster will be John Mansour, a professional magician for the past 20 years.

John has toured his magic show around Australia and has performed in Thailand, the Philippines and New Zealand. He has even appeared on cruise ships, although his magic doesn't extend to curing seasickness so he prefers working on land.

The John Mansour School of Magic is a new enterprise for children over 10 and adults, offering a three-hour course in basic magic.

"What those students will learn in three hours took me three months," John said.

"When I started out 20 years ago, there was nowhere to learn the magician's art. But I knew that's what I wanted to do.

"I found a magician in the Yellow Pages and rang him only to be told he was too busy. `Go to a library,' he said, so I did, and began reading up on magic.

"Then I found a dealer who sold me some props and gradually things started to happen for me."

Now John can astound audiences with an exciting bag of tricks. He begins with sleight-of-hand and extends to levitation, making people disappear and thrusting 15 swords into someone locked in a wooden box.

His son Daniel, 10, loves it when dad makes him disappear. "He thinks, he's Harry Potter," John said.

At John's School of Magic, the three-hour course will cost $295. Details: John Mansour, 0411135026.