Speaking at Villiers Park Fantastic Futures Event

I then had the opportunity to speak at the Villiers Park Fantastic Futures event that also celebrated the hard work of its student participants this year.

The Fantastic Futures programme exists to help provide support to students of Year 10 - Year 13 in the Swindon area. The programme includes the mentoring scheme I was part of and has the opportunity to have an e-mentor who is studying the course and/or is studying at the university a student is interested in applying to. They also have exhilarating opportunities to go to universities as part of residential trips to engage in set tasks and practice those teambuilding and leadership skills!

It was amazing to hear all of the great student stories at this night too! I had a fantastic opportunity to speak to some parents as well who wanted to know more about the work of Villiers Park from a student alumnus because at the end of the day, I don't work for Villiers Park but individually endorse them so much! Thank you so much if you did come and speak to me at the event! If you were interested in the blog and I sent you in this direction, thank you for visiting! If you are interested in keeping updated on my journey, please do submit your email on the right hand side of this page under "Follow by Email!" to get updates when I post (which isn't too frequent, but usually when I have something to post!). Feel free also to read back on my journey for advice from Year 11 and onwards!

Photo credit: Villiers Park

In this speech, I discussed my struggles again throughout A-Levels but how rewarding it was to secure my place at university. I have included my speech below in case you wanted to read this also. It is slightly repetitive compared to the last one (but remember I did only go through school once so the experience is the same! haha) but I did adapt it to tailor for this evening.

Villiers Park logo.

My speech:

Hello! My name is Josh and I am a student who worked quite closely with Villiers Park to fulfil my aspiration of studying medicine at my first choice university. I have been part of Villiers Park for the past five years when I went into Year 10 at Lydiard Park Academy.

The journey into university unfortunately wasn’t a straight and narrow path. But Villiers Park helped either eliminate or reduce every obstacle that I encountered.

Through mentoring sessions, I would meet with my mentor to discuss my recent activities. I would explain to Julie how stressful I’m finding things, how I’m worried I’m not going to get the grades and how I cannot find a balance. I was struggling very much through Year 13 as I still wasn’t reaching the entry requirements of my offer from Bristol University. I suffered in silence from the beginning and telling myself that I could deal with the issue independently because I felt quite embarrassed and ashamed that I wouldn’t fulfil the expectation of going to university this year. However, when I spoke to my mentor about my situation and how I was on the verge of giving up, she gave me that confidence again that I could do it. And by talking and developing plans of actions, I knew I could cope for another two-three weeks before the next session. I found the mentoring sessions as an opportunity to vent about my struggles but find solutions to them. My mentor would have open ears and be a voice that provided that guidance and support I needed. As soon as I had opened up about not coping with the change in learning style and needing to adapt my revision regime in A-Levels, my grades improved!

Before this, Villiers Park helped me decide on which university I wanted to apply for. I attended sessions of ‘MedSoc’ from Year 10 which was a group of aspiration medics who wished to study medicine, like me. Here, I could hear from guest speakers directly about their experiences, ideas for placements and even how to construct the perfect personal statement. When it came to exploring universities, I went on many open day trips to different unis. It was fantastic having the mentors with us at the open days because their experience and advice meant that we were asking questions at the open days which I may not have thought of if I had gone with my parents. For example, when going around open days with family, you mostly think of cost of living, student loans etc. Whereas I was asking questions about the course structure, unit content and about placements because we had been informed about the significance of asking these questions. For this reason, I was able to eliminate my long ‘perfect’ uni list to just the five I was going to apply for – with Bristol being my first choice because I felt that course would suit me the best. I have also been running a blog that follows my journey throughout my medical training which I hope has been helping the current prospect medics with their decisions to pursue the degree and what to expect.

The residentials I have been on with Villiers Park has allowed me to develop skills which have benefited me throughout my school years and I’ve carried it on into university. We would learn investigation skills, how to be involved participants and how to manage time appropriately. Anyone can practically work in a team, but I feel that through Villiers Park, it taught me how to work in a team effectively. Three years on, I am still in contact with a lot of my peers and it’s interesting to discuss the differences in the medicine courses in Bristol to Nottingham to Liverpool.

University has been an amazing experience so far. I’ve learnt how to balance my priorities and juggle the time I spend on work and learning with maintaining a social life! My course has been everything I expected and more! I have had fantastic opportunities to become more stuck-in and enjoying placements so much, I am now working as a healthcare assistant in Southmead Hospital! I have made great friends while at university. You are surrounded with people from diverse backgrounds that differ from your own but you all share similar passions and interests! I would recommend university because I feel it is an experience like no other! You will enjoy studying more when it’s in a subject you’re actually passionate about. You meet likeminded people and grow an exciting social life while developing yourself as you grow independently.

As well, before Villiers Park, I would not be stood here in front of you now speaking. I learnt ways to become more of a confident speaker all through the events and activities that I attended throughout the year.

University has been such a challenge but a reward for all the hard work it was worth! It’s so much better finally learning content that I am passionate about and enjoy reading. I am really happy that Villiers Park are still in contact with me because I feel I owe a lot to them. From the staff in Foxton to the mentors, past and present, who have helped me – thank you. And I say it every year but it won’t add up to how grateful I actually am. The skills Villiers Park have taught me has made me the person I am today.

Thank you for listening.