Thomas Pyle
For Thomas Pyle, from Hertfordshire, results day did not start well. 被预测在A-Level得b, he opened his envelope at his local college that morning to see that he had been awarded much lower grades than anyone had expected.
“My teachers just said, “世界杯官网中文版不知道发生了什么”, and all I could say is that I didn’t understand it either,” said Thomas.
“在最初的时刻，我简直无法控制自己的震惊. I didn’t know what to think, and I just kept wondering what I would do. 我不好意思告诉我的家人. All my friends were celebrating, and I was trying to process this huge disappointment. I just felt panic.”
当托马斯告诉他的家人时, 他们非常支持我, 一旦他从最初的震惊中恢复过来, 他开始考虑他的选择.
我一直梦想成为一名教师, Thomas had applied for a range of teaching degrees and received good offers, 但他的研究结果改变了一切.
“I contacted a few universities on results day and asked them to put me in to Clearing,” he said. “有些人根本没有给我回复, but the University of Worcester were really responsive, helpful and supportive, and when you’re feeling like your world has been turned upside down, that’s really important. They were willing to help even though there was a chance I wouldn’t end up studying with them, which meant a lot.”
“我还要求对我的a - level成绩进行重新评分,” he added, “and Worcester said that they would accept me if my marks improved slightly.”
Thomas then had a nervous wait of a couple of days before his re-marked grades were ready, during which time he began the process of applying to college in case he could not improve his marks sufficiently to secure a university place.
“It was a tense few days waiting to see how the grades would come back and wondering if I’d have to do another year in college to get enough points for university,” he said.
In the end Thomas’ grades were upgraded following a re-mark, and he was accepted on to the primary teaching pathway at Worcester. Looking back, he feels that the best advice he can give anyone who finds their plans have gone awry on results day, 是给自己时间思考吗.
“When I first saw my results I just thought ‘this is the end, 我不知道该怎么做, 但事实并非如此,” he said. “You have to give yourself time to think, and to breathe. Even before Worcester accepted me, I was looking at other routes in to teaching. It just takes a bit of time to realise that it’s not all over if the results don’t go your way. 你得给自己留点时间.”
托马斯现在是一个非常快乐的大学生, 还有一年就要毕业了, all the stress of those difficult few days now far behind him.
“我喜欢伍斯特，”他说. “我非常喜欢我的课程, but I also love getting involved with all the clubs and societies and really feeling a part of the university community.”
“The University also helped me find out why things had gone so badly wrong with my A-Level results,” he added. “When I came here, I explained that I had always struggled with tests. 他们建议我去做阅读障碍评估, and it turned out that I had been living with quite a severe learning difficulty for years without even realising it.”
“现在我知道我有阅读障碍, I have various coping strategies and good support from the University, 我的成绩也有所提高.”
“If only I’d known about it during my A-Levels,” he added.
In fact, 托马斯在伍斯特很开心, he is considering returning to the City to teach once he has graduated.
“I’ve definitely fallen in love with the Worcester area,” he said. “伍斯特拥有所有城市的氛围, 但是像我这样来自乡村的人, I also like the way Worcester gives off the village vibes too.”
“As a student you just feel safe here in Worcester,” he added.
“When I qualify, I would like to go back home to Hitchin and teach for a few years in my local community, but I can definitely see myself moving back to Worcester to teach in the future.”