Tyler's improved attendance in GCSE English brings success at last

: Created: 22 January 2020

The 18-year-old plumbing student from Dartford has been walking on air since achieving a grade 4 (equivalent to the old grade C) and is delighted to have finally secured the one missing core subject qualification to add to his CV. It means he can now devote himself to his main vocational course and work towards achieving as highly as possible before setting out into the real world of work.

For Tyler, the difference between pass and fail was always a case of attending his English classes at the College to learn enough about the subject before being put to the test. In the past, he had chanced it and entered the exam without the knowledge and foresight needed to get him through. After an intervention by managers at the campus, he at last knuckled down to some serious study - and low and behold, found himself enjoying the lessons immensely.

“It took quite a while to realise that I can’t blag my way through this and rely on good fortune.” Said Tyler, “In the end, I had to make the right choice, get my head down and be serious.

“Believe it or not, I’ve now sat this exam four times in the past; once at school, and three times here. I attended only when it suited me and I wasn’t exactly very attentive when I did turn up. Saying that, in my last two attempts, I was only either one or two marks away from passing - that only made me more despondent and I almost gave up.”

London South East Colleges operates an ‘intervention’ programme for poor attendees and those that don’t turn up for class on time or are disruptive and low achieving in any subject at any level. After a glut of poor results at GCSE, Tyler was called in and given the ultimatum - attend, concentrate and pass or stay away and fail.

Tyler continues: “It worked. And what’s more, I actually really enjoyed coming to class and learning new things. Finally getting to grips with grammar and punctuation, spelling and linguistic conventions, as well as learning how use written and spoken English in a range of different practical scenarios has helped open my eyes to how beneficial a good command of the English language actually is; regardless of what career you wish to follow. Being more articulate allows you to have a more coherent voice and opens more doors for you. Not only that but people take you more seriously and actually give you more respect.

“My tutors, Helen and Elvira made the subject very engaging by gearing our course materials towards more relevant subject matter such as engineering, infrastructure, medical advances, gadgets and telecommunications. One example was about the building of London’s Crossrail project, another was about Alexander Graham Bell (the inventor of the world’s first telephone) with another covering Florence Nightingale’s handwritten letters on a range of topics related to her work as a social reformer and the founder of modern nursing.

“Obviously, I’m delighted to get my GCSE in English and I’d like to thank Helen and Elvira for their patience and for never giving up on me. Strangely enough, I’m now getting requests from fellow students for useful tips about passing their exams in the Springtime. Tips number one, two and three are easy - attend your lessons, listen and revise. Everything else will pretty much take care of itself after that.

Head of Faculty, Helen Rafferty is also jubilant about Tyler’s grades. She said: “Tyler has always had the talent and ability to pass this exam; he certainly didn’t seem to have much trouble getting his maths and other subjects at school. As is very common, it really did all boil down to simply not attending enough lessons. Once he got into the habit of turning up on time and taking part in class discussions and actually becoming interested in the subject, he was suddenly on-course to achieving the grades he’s been waiting for.”

If you are considering enrolling on a course at London South East Colleges and would like to improve your GCSE core subjects (English or Maths) results, come and give it a go. Drop in and see us at any time or apply for one of our English and Maths courses advertised on this website.