This student came to Primrose Hill School after a short spell with our Outreach Service. Having had difficulties with education for many years, he was hugely anxious about stepping into a school. Throughout his time with us, he often struggled to enter the school building, often having difficulty bringing himself to get out of the car when his mum dropped him off.
We began by bringing him in to visit the school with staff from the Outreach Service; later he became comfortable working with and spending time with staff from Primrose Hill School.
Though we were never able to persuade the student to enter the school, the student, the staff and his mum were determined that this wouldn’t stand in the way of his education. Instead, we worked with him outside of the school building – at one point in a tent to keep the rain off! This way, he was able to access the support and expertise of our Student Mentors and go to the park with other students, without being forced to enter the building. With the help and support of his mum and Student Mentors he became significantly more comfortable with school staff and managed to complete a significant amount of schoolwork.
Eventually the time came when he needed to go into a building in order to do his exams. As our exam centre is Teaseldown School, he travelled there for an initial visit and to see how the exam centre would run. This went well and, with much planning and support from home, he was able to come into school for his GCSE exams and gain a place at college.