My experience at school was quite bad. I had terrible attendance, I didn’t really care about school, and I didn’t go in. When my Head of Year first proposed the idea of CXK’s Steps to Success programme, I was sceptical about doing it. But after telling my mum about it, and her encouraging me to take part in it, I decided to apply.
I went to the first meeting, and I really enjoyed it. My mentor, Anna, and I talked about anything I was struggling with, and then found ways around it. I also got help writing a CV, which was something I didn’t know anything about. I didn’t even know how to apply for a job, so I was given help making my CV which I’m now very proud of.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take part in work experience at first, and I had missed the deadline for it. In my meeting with Anna, we talked through my struggle with anxiety when reaching out to an employer and asking to work for them. Anna helped me with this, and I got a work experience placement at a hotel. After getting help to show up for my first day, everything after that was a breeze. I got along really well with all the staff, and I enjoyed working with customers. It really built up my confidence in speaking, as I had to speak with people every day for 8 hours straight. I feel I’m a more talkative person now, especially with people I’ve never met, which is something I struggled with before.
Academically, I was given help with finding out my different paths in college, as beforehand I had no idea what an A-level or T-level was. I missed the deadline for applying to college as I didn’t know what I wanted to study, but thanks to Steps to Success, now I do. I’m currently studying Law, Business and Criminology at A-level.
A couple of years ago, I never would’ve imagined myself choosing any of the courses I’m studying now. I thought I would do something that I didn’t really enjoy but made money. When I spoke to Anna about what I actually wanted to do, she helped me find a career path that suited me. Now I’m really ambitious about getting that career path, and the thought of doing what I want to do really excites me.
I want to be a lawyer and work my way up to becoming a judge. After college, I want to study Law at university, get my Law degree and then take the exam to become an apprentice lawyer. After that I’ll work as a lawyer for five years and then I can start working towards becoming a judge. It’s a long path, but I’m willing to take it.
Steps to Success is a new pilot study being operated in East Sussex. It aims to find out how we can support young people to find the best route for them at the end of year 11. Together, we set career-related goals, as well as goals that relate to the young person’s personal development.
