DCG Success Stories

Arooj, who is nearly 18, was named Student of the Year on her Level 1 Diploma in Health and Social Care after attaining high grades and good levels of attendance.

Educated at school in Italy, she came to Derby with her family just over a year ago.

As English is not her first language, she initially took the Lexis course at the Roundhouse.

Arooj said: “Going to college was hard at first as my English wasn’t that good. I’d learned it at school but I didn’t understand everything people were saying.

“Slowly, though it got better; it began to feel more normal.

“Derby College is really nice. It has everything you need. I made friends there and all my lecturers were really, really good.

“They were great at giving us feedback on our work. College was quite different to school.

“Despite it being a full-time course, students have more independence than at school and there are really good levels of support from the college.”

Arooj, who was good at science at school, is taking the Certificate in Health and Social Care – Level 2 next year, then plans to move on to level 3 followed by a nursing degree at the University of Derby.

She added: “On my level 1 I enjoyed working in groups best and really liked the lessons on how to give personal care.

“I found learning about how to look after people when they’re on the wards really interesting.”