Sport, Leisure & Travel Success Stories
REAL results, REAL success stories
Danny Ion
BTEC First Diploma in Sports
Sports student Danny fended off stiff competition to be selected by Northamptonshire Football Association to represent the region at a national football training camp. He did all of this while juggling his passion for football with his studies at college.
“I have loved football since I was small. I remember kicking a ball around at the age of four and have been playing in clubs since I was 10. Like many other young lads my dream was always to play professionally. Unfortunately I wasn’t quite good enough but football will always be in my life and coming to Northampton College meant I could continue to pursue my love of sport, and get qualifications at the same time.
“I attended a Young Leadership Event in 2011, joining a small group of other young people from across Northamptonshire. I guess I impressed the leaders because I was then selected to represent the County and attend a regional event – one of only three young footballers to get through to this stage. I now hope to get into the national sports camp, but in the meantime I was spotted during the regional leadership event and asked to manage a regional Under 7s football team. I guess I already have a packed year ahead!
“Largely, thanks to everything I’ve learnt at Northampton College, I think I now want to be a coach and perhaps I will later train as a referee.”
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Yasmin Hucknall
BTEC National Certificate in Travel & Tourism
Yasmin previously completed a BTEC National Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning & Development at the College but didn’t feel ready for University.
“Travel was something I have always been interested in so I decided to enrol on the BTEC National Certificate in Travel & Tourism and it’s been great. I learnt all sorts of things about the travel industry. We had external visitors come in and talk to the group about working in an airline, hotel and travel agent’s. That was really good because you get to see what it’s really like. We went on various trips too as part of the course to Paris and Liverpool and had activities and tasks to complete while we were there. That was great fun! We also learnt about the more difficult side of the travel industry like the long unsociable hours most jobs involve. I think the best thing about the course is that you learn it all – the good and the bad. The teachers have all worked in travel so they can tell you how it really is.”
Travelling in from Daventry daily and working part-time to help fund her studies were additional challenges for Yasmin. “I learnt how to prioritise my work as I had limited time to complete my assignments but that is probably a good thing and will help me in the future. I want to work in events management now. As part of the course we had various assignments relating to events. We had to organise the Student Conference one year and that was a great experience. We had to sort budgets, catering and work as a team. The course has made me realise what I want to do with my life.”
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Nathan Clarke
The Airline Industry has always been of interest to Nathan. That’s why he first enrolled on the BTEC First Diploma in Travel & Tourism, progressing to the BTEC National Certificate. He now works at Birmingham Airport, but in the long term he’d love to teach.
‘I’ve never been great at exams and didn’t do that well at school. That’s why I chose this course – it’s very practical with the coursework and there are no exams which is great. I learnt so much on the course such as ticketing and air fares, tourist destinations, customer service and even marketing. The customer service unit really helped me prepare for work – I’m the person who checks people in at the airport, helps with boarding passengers and deals with customer complaints.’
Nathan particularly enjoyed the field trips. His class went to London sight seeing on a number of occasions, Alton Towers, and even Spain for a week. ‘The trips were great, but it wasn’t all fun – we did have to work! The teachers are all really supportive too. They really know their stuff because they’ve all worked in the industry so they’ve got first hand knowledge of what it’s really like.’
The lecturers at the College have also inspired Nathan to consider a career in teaching – he’s even been back as a guest lecturer to talk to learners about his experiences on the course, and also his work at Birmingham Airport. ‘I love teaching and would love to be a teacher at some point. Having done the course, and now working in the industry, I’ve got a range of knowledge and experiences to bring to the classroom.’ Nathan would recommend the course to anyone looking to enter the Travel Industry. ‘I wouldn’t have got the job I’m in now if it wasn’t for college. It’s been a great stepping stone.’
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Leanne Washbourn
Leanne has her sights set on a career as a children’s rep – working on a Walt Disney cruise ship would be her ideal job.
‘I wanted to be an air hostess but being able to learn about other areas of the travel industry on the course changed my mind. Our assignments helped us develop a lot of skills like customer service and planning and we were taught about different types of travel from trains to cruises. The industry is so in depth and the course covers all aspects of it which I found really interesting.’
Leanne achieved higher grades then she expected and took the decision to enrol onto a childcare course at the College to help her accomplish her dream.
‘I got three distinctions, five credits and two passes which I am over the moon with. I am really excited about the childcare course and becoming children’s rep. For anyone interested in a career in travel I’d say the First Diploma is a good starting point.’
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Anthony McWilliams
Anthony is a high level athlete who is currently ranked in the top 20 100m sprinters in the UK. He regularly competes for Northampton Athletics Club and has a natural talent for sport and fitness. When Anthony enrolled onto the BTEC National Diploma in Sports Performance & Excellence, it was clear from the beginning he was going to excel. He applied himself fully to every assignment and completed the programme with an overall distinction. He is now studying a sport degree at the acclaimed Brunel University in London.
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Jodie Paine
Jodie is a self confessed show jumping fanatic who was an exceptional student on the BTEC National Diploma in Sport and Exercise Sciences at Daventry. Despite leading a hectic lifestyle taking part in competitions and playing in a girl’s football team, Jodie still managed to give one hundred percent to every assignment as well as being an active member of the group. She is undecided which area of sport she will move into as a career and is concentrating on her show jumping for now. She is considering studying coaching or physiotherapy at university in a year’s time.
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Anne-Marie Baha
Anne-Marie has developed considerably during her time at college, completing a foundation course and First Diploma in Travel & Tourism before moving on to the National Certificate. Her first language is not English so, some of the work she found difficult at first. However she has progressed extremely well over the years and her grammar and written work has improved dramatically over that time. Anne-Marie’s studies on the courses have helped her define her career choice in Event Management and she is looking forward to going onto university in the future.