SUCCESSES

A Level Success

Diana Jakobele

Diana is a remarkable student. After completing her GCSE’s, Diana attended the Travel andTourism course at Boston College before moving onto study for her A-levels. Diana has now successfully achieved her desired

grades to earn her a place at University, an accomplishment many students didn’t achieve this year, let alone a student who, by her own admission, could only say ‘hello’ when she first arrived at St Bede’s School Boston five years ago.

After achieving an A* in Russian, B grades in Maths, and Economics and a C in Law, Diana is now off to Portsmouth University to read Economics, Finance and Banking. She is hoping this will lead into her chosen career in accountancy.
Diana said of her results, “I am so pleased. I will be sad to leave the College as I have made so many friends, which is what initially attracted me to study at Boston College. However I am very excited about going to University.”

This achievement is outstanding and one in which all her family, friends and tutors at the College are extremely proud of. Diana praised the support of the staff and the friends she has made at College adding, “the staff are helpful and very encouraging, and I feel much more confident about progressing onto studying at University’.

Mike Latham, head of A-levels at the College commented, ‘Diana has been a brilliant student, all her tutors have praised her dedication to her studies and we are all very pleased for her. We wish her the best of luck in Portsmouth’.

Chi Ho Alan Leung

Originally from Hong Kong Chi Ho came to Boston College two years ago to study A-Levels. He has been studying English Language, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics and Statistics. This year Chi Ho achieved three A’s and two C’s in these subjects, “The support from the tutors at Boston College is very good, I am very pleased with how I did. I am very surprised as I didn’t think I would do as well as I did in physics and statistics. I got 100% in one of the modules for statistics which has made me very happy“. Chi Ho is going to go onto to Leeds University in September where he will study Aviation, “I am really looking forward to going to study at the University of Leeds.”

Hairdressing

Danielle Chamberlain

Before coming to Boston College Danielle studied at Haven High Technology College where she completed her GCSE’s. She decided to go on an Apprenticeship scheme at the College as it was important for her to gain work experience whilst studying, learning both practical skills as well as the theory. For her hairdressing was an obvious choice as it is something she has wanted to do ever since she was a child.

Danielle is employed by Tracey Swadling of Bella Hair. Bella Hair is a brand new hairdressing salon, which opened in April 2009, and is run by herself and Danielle. This enables Danielle to gain hands-on experience through the majority of tasks involved with running a salon. Tracey has lots of experience within hairdressing as she has previously owned her own salon, therefore having an Apprentice allows her to share her knowledge and understanding. ‘My role to Danielle is to guide her through all aspects involved within hairdressing, providing her with hands on experience and allowing her to build up her own client base. Danielle is a great asset to my business. She is polite and friendly and is enabling my business to grow, which is very important for a new business. I feel very lucky to have Danielle as she is very keen to learn, she will make a very good stylist in the future.’

Before her placement at Bella Hair, Danielle was working at a different salon, however due to the economic climate they were unable to keep her on. ‘I was advised by the College to go on to the Programme Led course and it was then that I was offered a place at Bella Hair. As a new salon it was an ideal business to work with. The College really helped and supported me, especially in finding me a new position after the other salon couldn’t keep me on.’ Tracey has also found the College to be great to work with. ‘Working with the College is marvellous. We have had lots of support and the tutors are always eager to help.’

Danielle’s course is structured so that she spends one day a week on day release at Boston College where she mostly learns theory and then the rest of the week is spent working full-time at the salon using and learning practical skills. ‘I am enjoying my Apprenticeship lots, I really like to get stuck in and this lets me be hands on with my learning.’

Once she has finished her Apprenticeship Danielle plans to stay on at Bella Hair and work as a stylist, with ambitions to become the salons top stylist.

Working a hobby/skill around studies!

Ross Ingamells

Twenty year old Ross from East Keal represents England as one of only two under 21’s on the England Clay Shooting Team. He is currently studying Carpentry and Joinery at Boston College.

After studying his GCSE’s at William Lovell Church of England School Ross decided to come to the College as he wasn’t very sure what he wanted to do. ‘I came to Boston College and originally studied the Business Introductory Diploma Level one but it wasn’t really for me.’ This allowed Ross the time to figure out what he was really interested in. ‘I decided I wanted to go into construction and so I did the Carpentry and Joinery Level One Diploma, which I really enjoyed and so I have carried on to do the Level Two. Once I have finished this I plan to complete the Level Three and then go into a career in Construction.’

Despite his career aspirations, Ross’ real passion is for Clay Shooting. Having only been shooting at a serious level for two years he has advanced to being one of the top in his age category, competing with the best in the country. ‘I got into clay shooting through my Dad, who also clay shoots. I then started to meet other people from within the sport, such as David Payne, Veteran Shooter for the England squad, who started to teach me at a more professional level.’

This year was Ross’ first attempt at trying out for the England squad and there was a lot of tough competition as there was only two places up for grabs in the under 21’s category. The standard was very high but Ross performed well and was chosen for the squad, which consists of two under 21’s, two ladies, two veterans, and 15 seniors.

Ross trains twice a week and takes part in a competition every Sunday. ‘I have set days to practice so I can work it around my college work and they don’t get in the way of each other. Boston College are really good and I get good support from my tutors so neither suffers.’

‘As I will be turning 21 next year I will no longer be in the Under 21’s category but I am definitely going to try out for the Seniors. I really enjoy Clay Shooting and would love to compete and win the major competitions, and I aspire to one day become World Champion.’

Apprenticeship in Electrical Installation

APPRENTICESHIP CASE STUDY:Mike Redfern

Mike grew up in Boston and studied at Boston Grammar School where he completed his GCSE’s and A-Levels before moving to Chester to study Sports Science at Chester University. After two years, he realised this wasn’t for him, and decided to return to Boston and pursue a different route. ‘Electrical Engineering and Installation has always fascinated me from a very early age and it seemed like a good choice for me to have a career in something I enjoy learning about and working with.’

Mike chose to do an Apprenticeship rather than a part-time course as he found the ability to earn money whilst training very appealing, along with the onsite work experience that he would gain.

Mike is employed by David Ridout of WHF Electrical as part of his Apprenticeship. WHF Electrical is a well established business that undertakes all types of domestic and commercial electrical works, from fitting a new plug onto an appliance to full house, shop or factory rewires, specialising in fault finding and security lighting, providing an ideal environment for an Apprentice to learn. David was initially unsure about employing an apprentice. ‘Taking on an Apprentice can initially be a bit daunting, my thoughts were “but they may slow me down rather than help”, how wrong I was.’ David himself began his career as an apprentice working with his father. ‘Everyone needs a start in their chosen career, and having an apprentice helps them and us. It has enabled our business to take on more work as the additional labour has proved to be priceless. We can work as a team and enable the apprentice to gain loads of experience and knowledge in the vast fields of electrics.’

Mike started his Apprenticeship with WHF Electrical at the end of April 2009 after a period of redundancy from another company. ‘During the time I was looking for a placement, the College Programme Led Apprenticeship Scheme helped me out a great deal. The Scheme helped me to refine my CV, look for possible employers, arrange work experience, and develop my interview techniques. Boston College staff, both Programme Led Apprenticeship Scheme and my course tutors, were very supportive and understanding of my situation and helped me to find a suitable employer quickly and efficiently.’

As an employer David has found working with the College great. ‘They are always there to help you and advise with any problems or queries arose. They make regular site visits to you to see how the Apprentice is getting on and we are kept very well informed in respect of how the College side of the learning process is going. The Apprentice is also set various goals to complete during his working week.’

Mike’s course consists of day release work-based training which means once a week he attends College for his Technical Certificate training and Practical Workshop training and instruction. ‘The facilities at the College are very good, particularly the workshops and IT suites.’

David has found Mike to be a real asset to his company. ‘I wish I could have three like him. He is very eager to learn, listens to instructions well and always asks if unsure about anything. He is very self motivated and can work on his own initiative. He is able to speak to people on all levels and is very polite and considerate around customers.’

Mike has ambitions to set up his own business in Electrical Installation and Engineering, possibly venturing into Industrial Installation, but realises that he will need many years of experience to make this possible. ‘Once I finish my Apprenticeship I hope to continue studying Electrical Engineering, possibly training for certification in Inspection and Testing and to continue working in the Electrical Industry.

Page Last Updated : 24/08/2010 14:45:45