August 2018
“I just wanted to say a big thank you to the whole of the MATREC team, especially Jenny (GCSE maths tutor) Lesley and Christine (English tutors).
I started my journey to higher education at MATREC five years ago, where I started off at level 1 English and Maths. I then went on to do level 2 and GCSE in both subjects and passing thanks to the amazing tutors.
‘I have enjoyed this course as I have learnt many new things. My confidence has grown. Christine has been a great tutor and covered everything we needed to learn pre-exams. Lynne picked up on the fact I have dyslexia when reading some of my work and sent me for a test which confirmed I was. I’m am so grateful for this as hopefully the extra time in the exam, which I needed, will have helped me achieve the grade I need.’
‘When I was at school I wasn’t very good at any subject. I was told more often that I was only there to make the numbers up and that I was thick. Sometimes I was put in a corner with a dunce‟s hat on.
When I left junior school to go to ‘big’ school, again I was put in the bottom group, which was the E group. It all started again, like, ‘lets have a laugh and let Brown read’. The name-calling started and got worse so I started to find reasons not to go to school or attend lessons.
‘I came to MaTReC in 2013 after being referred by the Job Centre as I needed to gain skills to enter the employment market.
I was very nervous about even walking through the door as I never went to school and was placed in care as a result of this! However from entering the building I was immediately put at ease by the staff on reception, they are very welcoming and approachable.
‘I first went to MaTReC in the autumn of 2013 after hearing about the organisation from one of my neighbours. He know that I was suffering with health problems and he thought that it would do me the world of good, as not only would I be mixing again with other adults but also improving my confidence and low self- esteem.
After contemplating the idea I decided that I had nothing to lose but everything to gain and by attending, not only did I have the chance to get back to the old Lee that people once knew, but I would also be enhancing my job prospects and working towards gaining qualifications.
Why I came to MATREC
‘I came to Matrec to level 2 English functional skills. I needed to update my qualifications for my CV as I am currently looking for work and Matrec have been brilliant.
It was important for me that once I had started the course I would be able to complete it. Having started the course in another setting which I sadly had to close due to declining numbers in the class, it was suggested to me that Matrec would be a suitable place to go.
