After achieving BBBC at the college, former student Lucy Woods has gone onto study at Norland College. We recently caught up with her to see how she is getting on.
Our students leave The Henley College and go on to achieve a wide variety of different things in their lives. We recently got in touch with a former English language student who joined the college due to the opportunity of studying English at A Level, as well as the child language acquisition component of the course that was available to students.
After achieving BBBC at the college, Lucy Woods has gone onto study at Norland College. We recently caught up with her to see how she is getting on.
“My name is Lucy Woods and I am currently a second year Norland student studying The Norland Early Years Development and Learning Degree in Bath with a view to become a nanny for high profile families. I come from Oxfordshire and attended The Henley College in the years 2016-2018.
I studied at The Henley College between the years of 2016-2018 and studied Psychology, English Language, French and completed an Extended Project Qualification on the legalisation of euthanasia in the UK. I came from Wallingford School where I studied my GCSE’s and got along really well at Henley. Thanks to the staff I came out with 3 B’s and a C in the EPQ which enabled me to go on to study at Norland College in Bath. I really enjoyed my time at Henley and made great friendships during this time. I came out able and qualified to play my full part in society and in my future education practice.
My first impression from The Henley College came from my first open day at the beginning of 2016. My first thoughts were that I would get along really well in an environment where I had more independence and that this would be a suitable bridge between GCSE and Degree Level study. To this day I feel my ability to work and research independently has been positively affected by my experience at Henley. I was also really impressed with the displays laid out in the psychology department which swayed me to taking it as an A Level.
I chose to attend The Henley College because I had friends that had attended the previous year and got on really well. I also had the opportunity at the open days to talk to the lecturers who would be teaching me my chosen subjects and felt I could gain a really good relationship with them and felt that their classes would be valuable to my learning. One of the most important factors in my decision to attend The Henley College was that they provided an English Language A Level course and my current school had a sixth form that did not provide this course. I was really keen to do the English Language course and had been for a number of months, for many reasons including (but not limited to) the Child Language Acquisition module and coursework element, for which I could choose my subject area.
I had many fond memories that I made at Henley which I will cherish forever, I could not possibly isolate just one. I have great memories from the Student Services team who helped me manage stress throughout my two years at The Henley College. Alongside that, the friends I made at Henley are friends I still keep in contact with today and I have many fond memories from lessons and free periods in the library working with them.
I had always wanted to be a Norland Nanny since I was about 11 and my mum and I found out about it from looking online. I’d always had a passion for childcare but was worried I would not be pushed enough in this career. Once I found out about Norland Nannies and the level of detail included in the Norland Degree and Diploma and the job opportunities that would be available to me for the rest of my career through the Norland Agency it was clear that Norland was now my first choice.
I chose my A Levels tactfully in order to give myself the best possible chance of getting into Norland (as it is a competitive interview process). I chose French so that I would be able to provide a second language to any of my future charges, and to set me apart from my peers on my course, and open up job opportunities abroad for myself in the future in French speaking countries. I chose psychology as many of the modules linked really well to my future course, such as Attachment, Neuroscience and Social Influence. I have continued to draw upon my A Level psychology knowledge throughout my time at Norland as many of the modules include theorists and research methods that I learned during my time at Henley. I picked English Language due to the Child Language Acquisition module and to develop my understanding of human language and how to properly articulate myself around high profile families.
In the future, I hope to complete my studies and Newly Qualified Nanny year and then go travelling. I hope to then become a nanny for a family in London with prospects to travel across the world. Following that, I hope to work in an educational facility teaching special needs children.
I think The Henley College taught me to be a more independent learner. I also feel like it provided me with a firm base of education to go onto degree level study with. I was pushed out of my comfort zone. It also provided me with some lifelong friends.
If I could give one piece of advice to a young person thinking about their future, I would tell them to challenge themselves. I could have made the decision to stay at school and not take a foreign language, but in challenging myself I have gained some valuable life skills; life goes on to throw challenges your way, so don't be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Your greatest achievements will lie the other side of fear.”
Find out more about our English Language course by following the link to the course information download.
Additionally, please do sign up for our next information event on March 10th to come and speak to the academic staff and find out more!
