STUDENT PROFILES

Tom studied a number of art related A Levels at Daventry. ‘It made sense to take the subject at A Level as I have always loved it and it’s something I think I am good at. I enrolled on the Applied Art & Design double award, 3D Design and Fine Art A Levels and got three As and a B which I am really proud of.’

Tom was always willing to put in extra effort. He volunteered to design the poster to promote the end of term art exhibition – the most successful to date. ‘I often used to stay late to finish off work and I think that’s what helped me get the good grades. Also, the support from the lecturers helped me evolve new ideas.’

Tom enjoyed all aspects of the courses but the second year was his favourite. ‘We were given a lot more freedom to develop our own styles and experiment with different techniques. For the exhibition I created something that was personal to me. I’ve got a big passion for sport so my art included paintings of football stadia and amusing 3D caricatures of footballers.’

Rebecca completed a childcare course in Daventry before progressing onto the BTEC National Diploma in Healthcare. ‘I have always wanted to be a nurse ever since I was little but I didn’t have the grades I needed to go straight onto the BTEC – the childcare course enabled me to progress up the ladder. I love caring for people and the course has helped me gain lots of valuable skills which will benefit me in my career. The work placements we did as part of the course will also really help me when I start work.’

During her studies, Rebecca’s father became very ill and she had to take time off to look after her younger brother. ‘My teachers were really supportive and helped me through the tough times. They understood if I couldn’t make lectures and helped me make the work up. I got two merits and a pass which is better than I was expecting. I am really chuffed.’

Rebecca is going to take a year out before starting a degree in nursing at the University of Northampton.

Since the age of 13, Samantha has shown a real talent and interest in javelin. Successfully competing for her school, country and most recently the East Midlands team, Samantha’s dream would be to become a professional athlete. ‘It was my teacher at school who first introduced me to javelin and that’s when I became interested in sport too. Completing a GCSE in PE made me realise it was something I was good at and being able to continue the subject at college has been great.’

Samantha enjoyed all elements of the A level, particularly as she has been able to link some of her coursework to her favourite sport.

‘One of our assignments was to devise a six-week personal exercise programme to measure and test our fitness levels – I based mine on javelin. We had to apply the theory we had learnt to see how we could improve our fitness. That’s the best thing about college, it’s never dull or boring. You are always learning new things and the lessons are always exciting.’ Samantha achieved an A in her AS Level and has one more year left on the A2 programme. After that she hopes to progress onto a degree at Loughborough.

Stephen has always been interested in Information Technology and computers. He began on the BTEC First in IT Diploma for IT Practitioners to get an introduction to computer systems, web development and other areas of ICT.

Despite having to overcome some difficult personal circumstances whilst on the course, Stephen remained focused on his work and produced assignments to a very high standard. He achieved an overall distinction grade before progressing onto the BTEC National Award in IT at Daventry.

Stephen is now working at Northampton College as part of the IT Support Team, running the Helpdesk and is halfway through his Apprenticeship Qualification.