School hasn't always been a happy place for Sophia Wilkinson.
The transition from primary to secondary was difficult. Diagnosed with autism she struggled to fit in and her attendance plummeted.
Sophia, said: "I had meltdown after meltdown. They tried to get me back into school so I could have an education but I would just scream and cry because I didn't want to go back.
"It would put an extreme anxiety in my head. I just thought 'this isn't going to work.'"
The 13-year-old said she felt isolated and misunderstood. She said: "I felt like I was some sort of different person. They made me feel like I was.... a monster."
Sophia‘s now a student at Changing Lives Independent Special Educational Needs School in Greater Manchester.
It is aimed at 11 to 18 year olds who have become, or are at risk of becoming disengaged, from mainstream education, or training.
Participants who have benefitted from the programme include those with learning difficulties, anxiety, depression and those dealing with bereavement or abusive pasts.
Students are taught academic subjects as well as practical skills working with horses, dogs and small animals.
Sophia says it’s been life changing. She said: "This school taught me to smile again and be myself."
