From a young age, Collins had dreams of going to university.
Around the age of twenty, Collins decided his dream of heading off to university, needed to become his reality, he started to formulate his plan, to study Economics and Finance.
After researching online, and he would need to complete an Access to Higher Education course and to do this, he would need to demonstrate at least a GCSE grade 4 result.
After visiting the Pathway Group website, he understood that a Functional Skills Level 2 was equivalent to the GCSE grade 4.
In April 2021, Collings contacted our Pathway SkillsZone Burslem Centre to enquire about Functional Skills Level 2 courses via Facebook. Initially, to identify if the government would fund his learning. Soon after this, he met with our advisor Naomi, where she reassured him, the Functional Skill was a widely accepted equivalent to the GCSE grade 4.
Collins recalls Naomi being “very nice and helpful” explaining the course structure, helped to book him in and confirmed the course dates. Soon after, Collins met with his Functional Skills, Tutor Ashleigh.
Collins believes that Ashleigh was a positive influence throughout his time at the Pathway SkillsZone Centre, teaching him at the appropriate level and pace, helping him to develop the necessary skills and knowledge.
As Collins progressed through his studies, he completed some practice examinations in preparation for the end of course examinations. He found this particularly helpful as this allowed him to understand the format of the exam and the types of questions he would likely encounter.
Following his examinations, he was called by the Pathway SkillsZone Centre and notified of his result, Collins was pleased with his passing results.
Since completing his Level 2 Functional Skills, Collins has enrolled at a local college to study Access to Higher Education. Upon completion, Collins plans to enrol at university and study Economics and Finance.