Case studies 

T.K.R

I am from Kenya in Africa.

I joined Step Up because I arrived in the UK at a time when everyone my age had already done their GCSEs and no high school would accept me, I was not given any direction on how to progress so it took a bit of time for me to join a school.

When I found out what I needed to do for GCSE exams in college I applied for this course, as I want to study and get my maths and English GCSE qulaifications.  

On day one, when I walked into the classroom my first thoughts were 

there were not as many students as I thought there would be, which was a shock to me. During the taster day everyone was so enthusiastic about the course, but after the first session less people came but it was a nice introduction.

The best things about the course are the tutors are helpful and keen and listen to their students .Ola  is a very inspiring and hard working person that I look up to as a good example and a symbol of perseverance and adaptability. The classes are short, everyone is respectful and every session is very engaging.

The most challenging thing about the course was I struggle with my punctuality but improvements have been made. The greatest moment for me whilst on the course was on two occasions when I was playing badminton in the sports hall and when we where doing our progress review and I was told I can do mechanics and my GCSEs together. If I could start the course over again, the things I would do differently are would be to make more effort to make more friends.

I now plan to progress on to the mechanics course this September and do my GCSE’s along side it. After that I hope to get an apprenticeship in mechatronics.

P.C.R

I am from  Kenya in  Africa.

I joined Step Up because I moved to the UK in the middle of 2025 and I did not have any final qualifications like GCSEs or the Kenyan high school qualifications, which are the KCSEs that would be able to help me join college or universities here in the UK, so I decided to look for help at Suffolk New College and I was able to find help concerning courses that were available. Due to the full time course application period being finalised, I was not able to apply for any of the September courses.

Luckily I was able to get advice on applying for a January course that would not be online help me in cope with the new environment, but also would help me earn qualifications that would help me get into my desired course in Dental Nursing, which required me to complete the Health and Social Care level 1, where I would be doing my Maths and English GCSE. This will help me to get an apprenticeship in Dental Nursing where I would be able to learn new skills and earn money at the same time. This is also a great way to be able to get employed in dentistry nursing.   

On day one, when I walked into the classroom my first thoughts were that I was going to be unable to relate with the students in the class because of my quiet and introverted nature I knew it was going to be difficult to relate and make friends with the other students mainly because many of the students seemed outgoing and extroverted. 

The best things about the course are that it has a very nice, friendly tutor who is always ready to listen to the students and help them in anyway he also has very fun and interesting lessons set for us which helped me a lot in socialising with the other students, this built my confidence and helped me approach people a bit easier.

The most challenging thing about the course was attending on time, but since it is a development course they try to understand every student's challenges although it felt really bad seeing the numbers of students drop in the class for lessons. 

The greatest moment for me whilst on the course was when we had the fun team building activities that helped us build our team work skills, with all the hard work I put into my studies, I was able to win student of the year award in this course. This was a very important moment in my life because I was able to see that I have come a long way in achieving my goals and it's all thanks to the step up course, the tutors and the supporting staff who helped me grow and achieve all the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the course.

If I could start the course over again, the thing I would do differently is engage myself more in relationship building with the other students and getting to know and learn new things from them.  

I now plan to progress on to my desired course in dental nursing, which I will be able to do after one year of health and social care course work to earn my Maths and English GCSE qualification, which will help me be able to apply for an apprenticeship in dental nursing.