Who better than to give you an insight into what to expect if you are starting at Breakthrough College than one of our students? Graham here has kindly written A Beginner’s Guide to What Can Be Expected From Breakthrough:

If you are reading this, then it’s quite likely you are one of the new students.

You may be nervous about coming to a new place and meeting new people. As a former student, I can tell you that the staff will do what they can to help feel you comfortable. How they may do this rather depends on what exactly puts you at ease. One example I can think of that’s worked is the occasional walk, helped a massive amount by the peaceful environments the sites are in.

With that all said, there are plenty of ways in which Breakthrough College is different from conventional education. One of them is that the staff are called by their first names, which might catch you off guard if, like me, you are used to regular schools.

Which leads me to how Breakthrough College handles the curriculum. Namely, that you are allowed to choose what you want to study, although they do encourage employment skills and qualifications for future jobs and/or courses. To take me as an example, I have done Functional Skills English and Maths, a couple of Creative Writing courses and a copious amount of life skills, also known as PSHE.

On a more personal note, I can also tell you that I’ve developed a lot as a person during my time here, as when I started here I didn’t have much in the way of confidence. But over time, I managed to develop considerably more confidence and also a better understanding of myself.

We also tend to have quite a few animals roaming around, particularly dogs, but you might also see gerbils, ponies, chickens and the occasional sheep wander down the drive, depending on which centre you are at.

So over all, I hope you enjoy your time here, and wish you all the best of luck.

From, Graham