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I live in Newham in London with my family. The music I like is by artists like Rihanna and Akon, people like that. I think I’m determined, hard-working and passionate. I’m into fixing technical things, like if a fuse goes in a music system. I also help Dad redecorate. We’ve just done my brother’s room, building it from scratch by putting in a partition wall and then decorating it.
What I like about school is the challenges you face. Sometimes there are things you don’t understand so you have to face up to them and learn basically.
I saw a poster about Diplomas, and then we talked about them in assembly. After that I spoke to my teacher and we had taster days where we got to work in groups to establish teamwork and things like that.
I thought the Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment was a great opportunity because I was looking into going into the building area. I thought about how it will help me in the future and how it will help me progress towards what I want to do. I’m also taking GCSEs in IT and History.
So far it’s good. It’s not just writing but hands-on as well. We go between sites and I’ve met lots of people from different schools, it’s made us make an effort. I study the Diploma for about one and a half days a week, and do some of that at the Building Crafts College of Further Education also in Newham.
What appealed to me most was how it’s not just continual exams. It’s really handy and practical, like last week we made carving joints which was good and will be useful. Nearly every lesson you get to do something practical. You get marked on work you’ve done previously and as you go along, not just final exams at the end.
My favourite thing is all the things we’ve built, like something called a bench hook, and the experience we’ve had so far. We’ve had to do lots of health and safety, then some building and woodwork. The people who have been teaching us have already worked in construction so really know what they’re talking about.
I’d like to work in the architecture side of construction and hopefully own my own business. You can’t go straight into owning your own business so I’ll have to get a job first. In interviews, I’ll be able to talk about the Diploma and the practical things I’ve done as part of it.
