Returning to education certainly paid off for 25 year old Sarah Kendall of Barrowford, as was proven on A Level results day, when she received the grades to gain entry to the University of Leeds to read Microbiology!
Sarah joined the Nelson and Colne College Sixth Form in 2012, leaving a full time job in retail management after realising that her heart belonged elsewhere. A keen love of science lead her to apply to the College and she said, “I’d heard about the College’s excellent reputation in the sciences and maths and knew immediately that I wanted to join – I didn’t even apply anywhere else and it’s been the best decision I have ever made!”
Keen to participate fully in College life, Sarah volunteered regularly at Open Events and mentored an AS Chemistry student in her second year. Encouraged by her tutor, Sarah was also one of three students at the College who secured places to assist with university standard research, completing summer project work with the Nuffield Foundation and she attended The University of Manchester’s Department of Life Sciences, carrying out a project entitled ‘Assessment of Inflammation in Experimental Stroke’.
Sarah’s hard work and dedication paid off and she was rewarded with outstanding A Level grades; 1 A* and 2 As in Biology, Chemistry and Physics which has allowed her to secure a place at the University of Leeds to read Microbiology. Sarah hopes one day to work in a lab full time carrying our medical research.
She said, “Nelson and Colne College is brilliant, I really can’t recommend it enough. The support I received was amazing and it’s the best teaching I’ve ever had. I’m ecstatic with my results and would say to other more mature students to go back to education if they want to make a change in their life. It’s been well worth it for me and I am feeling much more motivated about my future career.”
