October 2017

Ben "The Bomber" hits mark with pass in GCSE English

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It was definitely a punch in the air moment for England Youth Boxing champion and UCB student Ben “The Bomber” Vaughan when he finally passed his GCSE English. 

With a potentially high profile career dealing with media interviews in his sights, the 18-year-old Level 3 BTEC Diploma in Sports Studies student was determined to get the subject under his belt after failing it twice before, once at school and then at college. 

“I failed by a couple of marks the first time and then took the exam again when I first came to UCB, but didn’t really put the effort in,” said Ben, who competed in the National Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas in July.

“I realised that if I didn’t get it the third time, I would end up having to sit it at the same time as my little brother. I definitely didn’t want to do that!” 

With plenty of encouragement and one-to-one support from UCB Learning Services lecturer Deborah Orrock, Ben gave it his all and, this summer, was absolutely ecstatic to receive his coveted C Grade. 

“Deborah gave me so much advice, telling me what I should or shouldn’t do all the way, so that I understood what I was learning, not just copying things down and going through the motions,” said Ben, who hopes to be picked for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. 

“She went through past papers and directed me to websites which went through everything I needed to know, step-by-step, which also popped up on my profile on the UCB portal. I was also shown how much time to spend on different types of questions, so I didn’t waste marks, and how best to juggle my studies with revision for the GCSE exam. 

“When Deborah phoned to tell me I had passed, it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was so relieved and can now completely focus on my course and training.” 

Alongside his Sporting Performance and Excellence Diploma, Ben is also doing an Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE). 

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