Jamie Bell, the actor famous for the role of Billy Elliot and Griffin in the film Jumper; Paul Smith, the frontman of Indie group Maximo Park; and me - Cheryl Swales, AELP’s Head of Apprenticeship Workforce Development! What do we all have in common?
We all studied secondary education at Northfield School and Sports College in Billingham, a town located in the North East of England.
I’ll admit I wasn’t the most academic when it came to school but faired ok with my GCSE grades which allowed me to go on to study a BTEC National Diploma in Travel and Tourism at Hartlepool College of FE which I thoroughly enjoyed! I believe the BTEC set me on the right path and gave me more confidence to achieve many more years of study – including graduating from Teesside University with a BA (Hons) in Education Studies in 2010.
I completed my degree later in life for various reasons, however if someone told me during my school years that I would go on to achieve a degree, and be in the job I am today, I wouldn’t have believed them!
