Growing up in Sierra Leone I had the drive to achieve success however was given few opportunities to do so. Upon arriving in the U.K under dire circumstances after the death of my father and the war that was being waged in my home country, I knew I had been given the opportunity to work hard, be successful and to help those around me in the future.
At the age of eleven I started at a new school called King Solomon Academy. Although the workload was immense, I knew in the end that it would be worth it. My first amazing achievement was completing my GCSEs with four As and five Bs. I received a massive amount of help from my Access Project tutor James Barber who tutored me in English and Chemistry.
One of the biggest challenges I had to face was the pressure of being an only child. Being supported by my mum alone in a single parent household was a struggle for both of us. This pressure caused me to lose sight of my goal and contributed to my initial failure at AS level. However, with the support of the School and The Access Project, I was once again given hope. I changed all my subjects and resolved to continue to work hard to achieve my goal of getting into university.
In my second attempt at AS level, I was matched with Richard Campbell who tutored me in History. Richard helped me with my essay writing skills in History which allowed me to think more sophisticatedly about the subject. With his assistance I was able to achieve an A in my final A level History result. Furthermore, Richard was very supportive of me and my journey through A levels and helped me deal with the pressures that I faced as well being a History tutor. Richard’s help undoubtedly motivated me and encouraged me to keep working towards my goal. His belief in me drove me to believe in myself. The help from The Access Project and my school alongside my drive for success allowed me to Achieve A*, A, B in my final A level result and I’m now embarking on my next journey to study Psychology at Warwick university.
Zein Jaward, Warwick University
Source: tap orig