Brave Angela set for A Level success
16/08/2010
Angela is looking forward to receiving her results on Thursday!
Thursday 19 August will be a nerve-wracking day for all A Level students up and down the country, but for one Central Sussex College student, receiving her results will mean the end of a difficult year, which has seen her battle severe health problems to achieve the grades she needs for university. Eighteen-year-old Angela Baker, from Haywards Heath, will be collecting certificates in A Level Business Studies, English Literature and Language, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and a City and Guilds Level 3 in Web design, but the past year has been a struggle due to a sudden, crippling back complaint that she has suffered since last October, and which has seen her bedridden for weeks on end, and walking with crutches at other times.
Angela, who has been a student at the College's Haywards Heath campus for the past two years is still receiving regular treatment for the condition, which doctors are yet to officially diagnose, and currently undergoes Physiotherapy, Hydrotherapy and Acupuncture sessions once a week, to aid her recovery. Despite having a considerable amount of time off over the past year, the former Oathall Community College student has now completed all of her exams, including a number of re-takes from the January modules, which she took at the height of her illness.
With a lot of hard work and dedication, Angela is on track to receive great results on Thursday, but without the help and support of teaching staff at the College, she might not have been able to achieve this success. Curriculum Area Leader for Business and Diploma Development, Val Kennedy, who was Angela's ICT Teacher, and Business Studies Teacher, Selene Edwards, who was her Tutor, have been particularly supportive over the past year. They allowed extra time for assignments, set additional work that could be done from home, via the College's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), and suggested other classes to attend that served as a top-up after a period of absence. Val Kennedy praised Angela's achievements, saying "Angie, who is always cheerful and positive, is to be congratulated for her hard work and commitment to her studies during this difficult year."
The excellent ICT facilities, which initially influenced her decision to study at the College, were also invaluable to tech-savvy Angela, who was grateful for the availability of College computers in the ICT suite, which she used to catch up with missed work at every available opportunity.
After facing the challenges of the past year, Angela is now looking forward to the future, and eagerly anticipating Thursday's results to find out whether she has done enough to secure her place at her first choice University, Chichester, where she has applied to do a Degree in Business and IT Management. She says "Although this has been a difficult year, and I have had to miss quite a lot of lessons, I really feel that it is the support given to me by my tutors and teachers at Central Sussex College that got me through! I have my fingers crossed for Thursday and I am really looking forward to going to University in September."
