Chloe finds footing with Preparation for College course 

When Chloe Cleary started at Leicester College, she had been out of education for a while and had no qualifications. Here is how her time at college helped to launch her love for learning… 

Chloe enrolled onto the Preparation for College course after struggling in secondary school, as it was the only course offering English and maths without previous qualifications needed.  

“I was nervous about college, as education was new to me,” she says. “But I was made to feel welcome and felt comfortable very quickly.” 

Launching to academic success 

Chloe quickly excelled at her course and enrolled onto Launch Pad – courses that are specifically designed for young people who want to re-engage with education or build their confidence before applying for further college courses, apprenticeships or work. She completed Level 1 Functional Skills in maths and English in the first half of the year and was quickly moved up to Level 2, which she also passed. 

“Level 1 was pretty easy,” she says. “I wasn’t used to being in school or in an educational environment, but my maths teacher was great and helped me remember everything I’d forgotten from school.” 

In fact, Chloe did so well in her course that she took part in the Leicester Einstein competition, a regional maths competition, where she won all of the Kahoots and helped her team finish in second place. 

Looking to the future 

 She is now studying a Level 3 in Creative Media course at South Leicester College and is looking at applying to university to focus on studying media. 

“Level 3 is a lot more practical work but I’m really enjoying the maths, music and technology parts of the course,” she says. “I love working on Canva and production work and want to focus on that at university. 

“I would recommend Leicester College as it’s really good for anyone who has been out of education for a while, or if secondary education wasn’t good for you. I settled in so quickly and liked being able to socialise with other people. I came to college with nothing and now I’m doing really well and am looking at further education. I’m excited to see what I can achieve next.”