The case studies in this section are from individual disabled people who talk about their experiences in further and higher education, training, employment and volunteering.

 

Contact Anne Brook  at anne@skill.org.uk or phone 020 7450 0620  

 

Matthew Kayne, is at college and getting ready to start university soon. He talks about his transition from a residential college, to a mainstream college, and his plans to go to university.

 

Robyn Steward has just started a BSc in Creative Online Design at Anglia Ruskin University. She talks about her interesting route from Further to Higher Education and why she thinks skills and determination are more important than exam grades.

 

Luke Collett started out studying performing arts at National Star College. Now at the Theatre of Motion, he talks about performing, teaching integrated dance in schools and how his ambition to achieve and a positive towards his impairment have served him well for the future.

 

 

*Laura Bailey is studying Combined Honours Special Needs and the Advanced Study of Early Years at Holy Cross College University Centre, in Bury. She explains how swapping to part-time study and applying for Disabled Students' Allowances have helped her to succeed.

 

*Judith May Fathallah never expected to go to Cambridge, but now she is studying for a BA in English. She shares her love of learning and talks about the quality of support she gets from the university.

 

*Susan Hedges is at Liverpool Hope University, doing a BA Popular Music Studies degree. She stresses the importance of knowing your rights as a disabled student and asking for extra time in exams or specialist equipment if you need it.

 

*Amy Lewington is 10 years into her higher education career and studying for an MPhil in Computer Communication at the University of Greenwich, Medway. Amy volunteers as a student ambassador and has found university a path to independent living. 

 

*Samuel Lupton began his BA degree in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Glasgow. He talks about gaining strength from difficult times and drawing on it to go forward.

 

*Cheryl Peart is at Goldsmiths College, University of London, taking a PG Diploma/MA in Counselling. Cheryl shares her experiences of the application process and how she manages her workload with support and advice from college staff.

 

 

Simon Finaldi studied BA Journalism at the London College of Communication. He talks about his experiences and what you need to succeed in study and work.

 

Mashfiqul Alam is a BA International Politics student at SOAS, University of London. He talks about support issues, his outside interests, and the importance of being a positive role model.

Emmanuel Osei-Tutu describes his experiences of leaving school, going to Further Education College and moving on to his first year of university.

 

Matthew Alleyne talks to Skill about his experiences as a student ambassador, visiting young disabled people in schools and colleges.

 

*Kirsten Edmondson did a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and now has a teaching job she enjoys, with supportive colleagues.

 

*Becky Newman did a BA with Qualified Teacher Status (BAQTS) and studied Special Needs alongside this. She now teaches art to Years 5 and 6.

 

*Stuart Newton took a 1-year PGCE and is now Joint Head of Lower Sixth and Head of Politics at the school where he teaches.

 

Laura Hignett is a BA Politics graduate with an NCTJ journalism qualification who worked as an intern at Skill this year. She talks about her experiences as a deaf student and how she has negotiated the jobs market.

 

*As featured in Into Teaching

 

 

 

Angela Spielsinger, who has a degree in media, spent 12 months volunteering in The Gambia and set up a Deaf Club. She talks about her experiences there and cultural attitudes to disability.

 

Nick Palfreyman, a history graduate, is volunteering for three deaf organisations in Java, Indonesia. He recommends that deaf and disabled people get involved in international development.

 

Find out about Skill's own volunteering projects and how you can get involved

 

 

 

Read or listen to young learners' work experience stories 

 

 

 

[Updated June 2009]