Hannah Nelson

"My mum’s a paramedic so I’ve always grown up in an environment where medicine is frequently talked about. I’ve always been interested in medicine, science, and the idea of helping people."

I went to open events at other colleges but I found the atmosphere here at ESC in Lewes was the best. I was familiar with the college from my open day visits. I think the staff are really friendly here as well. These are the reasons I chose to come here. I live in Eastbourne and find the journey to Lewes really easy. It’s literally 15 minutes on the train and I find they’re hardly ever busy coming into Lewes.

I was always interested in Science at secondary school, which played a big part in my decision for A-Level subjects. I’m really glad I chose the courses that I did as they support one another and I’m really enjoying it.

I really enjoyed the transition from school to college. If anything, there’s a lot more freedom, there’s a lot more independence, and it comes with a big sense of achievement, as it hasn’t been spoon-fed to you.

When you first start college, there is an initial jump from GCSE to A-Level, which some people can find quite intimidating, but it’s really important to ask for help as you do get it. If you bury your head in the sand it can be quite difficult. The support is always there for you if you need it.

I really enjoyed the transition from school to college. If anything, there’s a lot more freedom, there’s a lot more independence, and it comes with a big sense of achievement, as it hasn’t been spoon-fed to you. Although you’ve had someone teaching you the lesson content, you have to take action and responsibility to succeed.

The science labs are spacious and class sizes are small which means the teacher is always accessible to you. There’s a really good library where I do all my work in my breaks. There’s an individual study section and all the books you need. I have quite big breaks in my timetable so it’s really easy for me to do my work during the day at college. Lessons are an hour and a half long so quite a lot of content is covered and if you need any help you can ask. I find the staff very supportive.

I’d really like to study medicine after college, so I can hopefully go into something like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). If I work hard enough and get the grades to go to university I know this will be possible. My mum’s a paramedic so I’ve always grown up in an environment where medicine is frequently talked about. I’ve always been interested in medicine and the idea of helping people. I think the area of CBT is possibly a sensitive subject for people but I think that it has the potential to really help people and will be a good thing to go into. My English Language skills will help as I learn about the formation of words and how people say different words, and how accents can lead into phonetic symbols - it’s really interesting! Outside of college I have three ex-race horses, which I own with my mum. I’ve grown up around horses. It’s a really good work/life balance for when I’m home from college, as I have something to look forward to away from my studies. I considered veterinary work because of my passion for horses, but more of a passion lies with medicine and helping people.