Newsletter
News
How Extern’s Pathways Project Helped Patrick Go From School Struggles to University
A young man from Belfast has shared how support from Extern and our Pathways Project helped him move from a period of significant personal and educational struggle to studying at university and now supporting other young people.
Patrick, now 20, experienced a range of difficulties at home and in school while growing up. With low school attendance and increasing challenges in his personal life, he describes feeling as though he was “heading down a dark path” and struggling to engage with education.
“Though my teachers at school tried their best, I struggled to focus on learning because I had so much to deal with in my personal life and was in and out of the care system. I didn’t find schoolwork engaging and struggled to sit in a classroom and concentrate. I began to rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms just to help me survive,” he said.
At the age of 12, Patrick was offered a place at Extern’s Pathways Project, an alternative education provision for young people at risk of exclusion from mainstream school. With the support of his mentor, Glen, he enrolled in the King’s Trust Achieve programme delivered through Pathways.
Over the following years, Patrick gradually re-engaged with education and began to rebuild his confidence.
“For the first time, I felt as though I could bring my whole self to the classroom. I felt supported and began to feel confident enough to work on my own self-development. I started to work on my Maths and English GCSEs alongside Achieve and the interactive, practical style of learning really suited me.
“If you had told me in my teens that I was capable of achieving this, I don’t think I would have believed you."
Achieve doesn’t just demand written work, there’s lots of visual learning and teamwork which I loved. I felt as though the staff genuinely wanted me to succeed and even through challenging times, like the pandemic, I knew they were there for me,” he said.
Patrick achieved 100% attendance over the three-year programme and completed his History GCSE alongside Maths, English and his King’s Trust qualification, equivalent to four GCSEs. He also attended another school one day a week to gain a qualification in Irish, enabling him to progress to A Levels.
Today, Patrick is studying Politics and International Studies at university.
“If you had told me in my teens that I was capable of achieving this, I don’t think I would have believed you,” he said. “I’m still involved with the staff at the Pathways Project and now have a part-time role helping to tutor young people currently on the Achieve programme. My role involves one-to-one support and mentoring. Being part of the team that helped me so significantly feels incredible.
“I have also spoken at events to advocate on behalf of those in university who have come through the care system and hope that by sharing my story, I can inspire other people. You don’t have to be defined by your past and, with the right support, it really is possible to achieve anything.”