At Ealing, we have welcomed several students at the age of sixteen or seventeen who, for various reasons, have lost their way. Perhaps anxiety overwhelmed them in the lead-up to exams; possibly they were struck by misfortune such as a family tragedy; or maybe it was simply due to not working hard enough during the academic year, leading to disappointment on results day.
Leading up to the start of the next academic year, many concerned students and parents visit the College for a consultation on the options available for progressing in education.
Resitting the GCSE year presents a personal challenge. The student must first reconcile with the reality of where they are in terms of their career aspirations as opposed to where they perceive they should be. It can also be extremely difficult to accept failure and then adopt a solution-based mindset aimed at getting back on track.
However, sometimes setbacks can make one stronger.
The College provides the chance for a fresh start:
- Students experience a new approach to teaching and learning, with fewer students in classes, allowing for more one-on-one time with teachers, which accelerates progress.
- Students enjoy an environment entirely geared towards academic development and self-empowerment in supportive surroundings. This can be truly transformative.
- Parents are offered a far more inclusive partnership at Ealing, where any issues in their children’s approach can be identified more quickly, with strategies to overcome these difficulties employed more thoroughly to ensure success.
If such a change were offered within the same environment, it most likely wouldn’t take.
Students might simply become complacent. At Ealing, it is very difficult not to get swept up in the rigorous culture of the College. The friendliness and openness at EIC are all-encompassing. Students settle, grow, and move forward with startling ease.
Most students who join at this age notice the difference immediately, and many report a complete mindset shift, a transformation that can be difficult to explain.
However it happens, whatever way they find renewed motivation, several of our students have undergone such a transformation.
Evan is an excellent example of someone who completely turned his life around at Ealing Independent College. Having underperformed at a larger independent school, achieving only a few GCSE passes, Evan admits that he was simply not mature enough to fulfil his great potential. Taking advantage of everything the College offered, Evan emerged not only with a strong set of GCSE grades but continued to A Levels and then university, gaining far more self-confidence. His contribution to the College football team also retains legendary status.
Abdulaziz was a student with a passion for politics. A member of the youth parliament and a local Labour Party activist, his underperformance at GCSE was largely due to not receiving the appropriate levels of support to get the best out of him. A year spent transforming his GCSE grades led to A Levels in Sociology, Arabic, and Politics, followed by a degree at Queen Mary, University of London. Now a freelance journalist with expertise in the Middle East, he acknowledges the support and care provided at EIC to help him get to where he is today.
Balgees is a former student who really struggled with confidence before coming to the College. Knowing that her brothers had prospered during their time with us, Balgees sought guidance on how to reach her ambitions. With a tremendously dedicated approach, she made significant improvements in her GCSEs, before studying Sociology, Business Studies, and Psychology at A Level. Leaving EIC as a confident and driven student, she completed a degree in Criminology at the University of Kent before moving into the financial sector.
Riyal was a superb student at EIC, though not a conventional retake or resit candidate. Having had to support her family abroad, her studies were interrupted. When she was able to re-engage, she chose Ealing, largely because the College offered an intensive year, opening up the possibility of achieving strong grades in half the time of a normal course, with the right application. Riyal provided that, and more. Achieving all A and A* grades, she went on to study A Levels in English Literature, Biology, and Chemistry, excelling at this level too. An MPharm graduate from UCL, she is destined for great things.
For some students, getting to where they want to be can sometimes be a complicated and convoluted process. There can be twists and turns, disappointments, and setbacks. But such a process can be hugely character-building.
Ealing Independent College helps to build that character - and can set students up not only to improve grades at GCSE but to extend their studies further into areas they never thought possible.