► What did you study At school?  

 I went to Shotton Hall School where I did Maths, English, Science, PE, RE, Health and Social Care. Unfortunately in I didn’t get the grades in my GCSEs that I needed for Nursing.

► What did you do when you left school?  

 I went to sixth form, I had intended to train to be a nurse then a midwife but because I didn’t get the grades I’d hoped for and studying in the sixth form didn’t suit me, I decided to leave.
I visited Connexions at this point to help me be more clear about my future. Helen and I looked at a Programme Led Apprenticeship (this is a non-employed apprenticeship) but this would have meant I would have to travel quite far everyday and would only received EMA of £10 per week. I decided that this was not enough to support me, so I got a job in a call centre.

► What happened next?  

 After a while I moved into a job in Business Administration where I stayed for a couple of years. I had moved in with my gran at this point to care for her as she was terminally ill. I still had the ambition to become a nurse. Because I didn’t have C’s in maths and English GCSE. I decided to start literacy and numeracy qualifications.
Sadly, my gran passed away, she had told me to follow my dream of nursing so I decided to contact Helen my Personal Adviser at Connexions again. I enrolled on a part time course at College, but unfortunately after 6 weeks they told me there was an error and that I wasn’t old enough to be on the course, so I had to leave.
Helen and I looked at other alternatives whilst I continued in my full time Business Administration job. Finally we found an opportunity to apply for a job as a Care Assistant for the elderly. I asked Helen to help me fill in the application form and she gave me lots of interview practice.