How do you feel about your BTEC results?
I feel happy with my results, knowing that I have worked really hard the past two years and pushing myself out of my comfort zone, especially stepping up to a lead role within the 2nd year project. Seeing the results within the email helped me know that my hard work had paid off and that working long days on coursework was worth it, making me happy and proud of myself.

Have you faced any particular challenges in achieving these results?
Minus the COVID-19 lockdown situation, the first year of college didn’t come with many challenges. The only one I can think of being having to use a second-hand laptop that wasn’t up to spec and needed to be factory reset every few months for it to run the software I needed for this course. During my second year, there were a lot more challenges in achieving these results; my second-hand laptop had stopped working meaning I had to borrow one from the college itself (which led to a few issues during the lockdown period in January). Adding on, there were a few family issues which meant my productivity wasn’t where it could be, although the college and the tutors did give me special consideration towards the end of the year if I needed it due to the circumstances.

What helped you most in achieving these results (e.g. support from course leaders, learning techniques, encouragement from friends/family/employer, etc)?
I think it was more determination to get through the two years and get the best grades possible. I completed a BTEC course instead of A-Levels since I don’t always cope with exam stress very well and would rather have gained skills that could potentially land me a job in the future instead of studying something like psychology for two years and then never using it or applying it again. During the second year of my BTEC course when health issues began to arise with my family, I wanted to get the best grades that I could to make them proud, even if that meant working on coursework from 10am til 9pm that evening.

Why did you choose this particular qualification and why did you choose Leicester College?
To be honest, I hadn’t planned on choosing Creative Media; I’d originally wanted to go into coding or games design, something to do with the Computer Science GCSE I had. However, the course I was looking into had been taken down and I saw Creative Media. I applied, not quite knowing what I would be doing in it and then it turned out I really enjoyed the practical side to it, creating a website, filming footage and editing it together as well as creating some graphics.

I chose Leicester College to do my studies since it was close by and wasn’t too far away for me to travel. I hadn’t been to the college campus before but I’m glad I studied there because the tutors are friendly and nice, as well as not afraid to give criticism when needed since that would be what you’d need to improve your work from a pass to a merit, or a merit to a distinction. As well as this, the tutors are very understanding and were always there to listen if you needed someone to talk to, whether it would be about struggling with coursework or something else.

What are your further education/career plans after this?
I’m currently enrolled in a Graphic Design apprenticeship but I’m either going to progress in the Graphic Design industry or learn how to code and become a web developer. I’m keeping my options open although I’m working in the Graphic Design industry at the moment, in case something I do in the future becomes something I enjoy. As I enjoyed filming and editing some footage together for different projects as part of the course, I plan on setting up a YouTube channel and creating some videos about video games as well as potentially a website for me to publish some game reviews (that I will write myself).