► What are you studying at school?  

I took my GCSE Art in one year when I was in year 9 and got a B grade so was keen to do something artistic. I have chosen to take the Diploma in Creative and Media with English, maths, science and an A level in art.

► How did you pick your options?  

Because it is a new qualification we had a lot of opportunities to try out the Diploma in Creative and Media it out before we made the decision to study it. There was a taster day at another school, we did some really practical tasks and watched a DVD where young people talked about the diploma.  I spoke to my Personal Adviser Maria who helped me consider whether doing the Diploma and A level Art together would be a lot of work, but we talked this through and I was determined to do both.

► What is the Diploma like?  

It’s great! It is a completely different way to learn, its more hands on and practical.  There are 3 schools in the consortium and although we do a lot of work independently, when we have a visit or trip, we all go together.
We have been working on a unit called ‘Scene’ which has been a mix of theory and practical tasks.  We visited the Sage and the Baltic at Gateshead and the Theatre Royal in Newcastle, we have produced a booklet to show people what is available locally.  Our current topic is Performance; we will be putting on a production that will be filmed.  I didn’t want to be in front of the camera, so I am working on the scenery and technical side.  The Topic is the good and bad sides of teenage life.  As part of the evidence for ‘personal learning and thinking skills which are an important part of the Diploma I am keeping a journal of my learning.

►How is it going?  

Its more fun than I thought, the ethos of the Diploma has gone into some of the other subjects, because my timetable has some clashes I sometimes have  to work independently.  I think that teachers think because we are doing the Diploma we have a broad range of skills.  I feel trusted when we are talking in the group I feel that any Ideas I have are valued.

►What are you plans for the future?  

I really want to do something artistic, I have talked to my Personal Adviser about jobs such as  illustrator, animator.