Since joining us in 2022, Rudy achieved excellent GCSE results at Ealing Independent College. Read through his time at the college.
1) Describe your educational experiences before you came to EIC. When did you join – in what year group were you?
I joined EIC in January of 2022 in year 9 coming from a local state school. Before EIC, I struggled to understand almost everything taught in class. On top of this, with the amount of stress the school provided, I was often unable to complete my homework on time and to a high standard which resulted in me falling behind. All of these issues around school also impacted me personally. I wasn’t able to focus on myself and my mental health which i found very difficult.
2) Describe your educational attitude before you came to EIC. What were you hoping for when you joined the College?
I have always been someone who is willing to put effort into education. That said, with the environment that I was in previously, I hated school. Because of this idea, I was unable to put much effort into my education because at the time, I couldn’t have thought of anything worse. I also felt like I couldn’t get anything out of school and believed I was going nowhere. Everything at my old school was a battle against procrastination or a feeling of low morale.
3) How did life at Ealing Independent College differ from what you had previously experienced?
EIC is a lot less formal than my previous school. With this comes a much more relaxing learning environment. This setup hugely benefits me as I now have the tools to focus on my education. The relaxing environment also helps me as I now feel a lot less pressure if I do badly on a test or underperform for example. This enables me to deliver my full focus into learning.
4) How did you do at GCSE? Were you happy with your grades?
At GCSE, I scored good grades, mostly 6s and above. I was very happy with my grades because of my hard work and significant progress that I made over the years. That said, none of this would’ve been possible without the wonderful teachers at EIC. I went to them countless times to ask for help with work, and despite how busy they were, they always found the time to help me.
5) Have there been any times over the last two years that you’ve found particularly difficult or challenging? How did you get through them?
For me, the most challenging time over the last 2 years was when I first joined the college part way through year 9. This is because despite moving into a better learning environment, I still carried the weight and the impact that my last school had on me such as a rather poor mental health. The College was a big factor in me overcoming these issues. Again, the relaxing environment meant that I had little pressure on me to succeed. This meant that I could focus on other things like turning my mental health around which in turn resulted in me doing better at school.
6) What are you planning to do next?
Next year I will be starting my A levels in biology, psychology and, hopefully, PE. My GCSE results have been a huge confidence boost for me. Because of this, I now feel prepared and am very excited to start my A levels. Also, EIC doesn’t have PE as one of their options. Despite this, when I expressed my interest in the subject towards Allan, he has worked to try to arrange for me to take it externally at another school nearby. This shows just how much the teachers care about their students and how they will always listen to them. After A levels, I am looking to complete a degree at university or possibly go into an apprenticeship in Sports Science.
7) What makes the College special?
For me, it’s the relaxing learning environment and access to the teachers that makes the college special. I now thrive at school because of the learning environment and how it prioritises making mistakes in order to do better instead of being punished for getting things wrong. Furthermore, at EIC, you are never told off for not understanding things. There is always a teacher close by who will find time to help you when needed.
8) Do you have any particular memories in terms of a ‘breakthrough’ while you were here? What particular thing made you change/become more focused?
My breakthrough moment at EIC was my year 10 summer mock results. I did very well in these exams. Additionally, this was the first time I truly felt that the effort you put into your work directly correlates to your attainment and the grades that you end up archiving. The thing that allowed me to change was the structure and environment of the college. Because of this, I was able to focus more on my personal development. One aspect of this phase was that I dove deeper into the science of learning and how to be efficient when it comes to things like revision, homework and organisation. This hugely impacted myself personally and resulted in me archiving much higher grades
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