Jak Thompson
Studied Psychology, Law and Geography A-Levels.
What made you pick your A-Level subjects?
I chose Psychology because I’m interested in how people’s minds work – the best thing we studied was anomalistic psychology, which focuses on the paranormal. I’m hoping to join the police force, so Law was a natural choice. Lots of what we’ve studied, like police powers and related Acts of Parliament, has been good preparation for my future training.
What would you say is the best thing about Byron?
Making new friends. There are people I didn’t really get to know in Year 11, who I’ve been able to make friends with in Year 12, mostly because the atmosphere is so much more relaxed. There’s not as much structure to your days, so you’ve got the chance to sit in the common room, chat to people and have a bit of fun.
What’s the best thing you did during your time here?
Our trip to China was amazing. We visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, as well as our partner school, No.17 Middle School in Hebei Province. The people there made you feel like a celebrity, always wanting to take photographs with you!
Students in China have to work a lot harder than we do. Getting into the Chinese police force is a really long process – you have to go to two different universities, then to police university before you’ve qualified! I’m really pleased I went to China – it’s definitely something I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t been at Byron.
David Elrick
Studied AS-level Mathematics and a BTEC National Diploma in Engineering.
What made you decide to come to Byron?
It offered the best choice of subjects for me – none of the other colleges I thought about going to had the courses I wanted to do in Maths or Engineering. At Byron, the teachers said to me, “We’ll get you the A-Levels, no matter what!”
My BTEC Engineering course is assessed as coursework all the way through, which means you’ve got to work really hard during the year. Being assessed by assignments means that you’ve got to do a lot of the research for yourself, but the teachers are really helpful in showing you where we should go for it and what we need to do.
How about when you were not in the classroom?
All students are encouraged to get involved with helping out in our community as much as possible. I visited one of our local primaries to help the Year 5 kids with their reading once a week
What do you think you’ll remember most about Byron?
Probably the Technology department. I spent a lot of time there because of the subject I study, but it’s a great place to be; you really want to turn up to lessons. My tutor and Engineering teacher is great fun too – he sings Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin songs when he’s in a good mood!
Kathryn Riddell
Studied History, Psychology, Biology, English and General Studies A-Levels.
Coming up from St Bede’s, what would you say are the biggest differences between studying at school, and studying at Byron?
Lessons were the best thing; you get a lot more work, but you’re only studying the subjects you enjoy and you’ve got free periods to help you cope with the workload. You’re free to organise your time around your lessons, so you don’t feel as if you’re being supervised all the time.
What opportunities did you have whilst at Byron?
A group of us won the How Science Works competition, where we gave a report and a presentation on DNA replication, in front of all the other colleges and a panel of judges at Sunderland University. The prize was a trip to London, where we visited the Science Museum and a West End show. I’ve never been to London so it was a new experience.
I also enjoyed my work experience at the Hartlepool Mail – I’m quite interested in being a journalist, so this was a great way of giving it a try.
What are your plans for the future?
I am currently at Newcastle University to study English Literature – it’s the subject I enjoy the most because I love to analyse poetry and books. An English degree also means I won’t be limiting my career options too early, so I’ll be able to do anything I want once I know what I want to do!
