ABCC Certificates of Merit
The ABCC awards Certificates of Merit to home study students who have captured the imagination of their course providers. Member Colleges may nominate any student they choose, but an appropriate candidate might be someone who has -
retrained by distance learning to get back into employment
achieved an outstanding exam or course result
overcome personal difficulties to achieve his/her goal
We are pleased to present some of their stories, and hope they will inspire others.
Roger Allsopp
Mr Allsopp, a retired surgeon, joined The Writers Bureau in 2010. At the time his ambition was to break the record and become, at the age of 70, the oldest person in the world to swim the English Channel. He wanted to be able to write about his experiences and raise money for charity. He successfully completed his swim in autumn 2011 and since then he has helped to raise in excess of £400,000 for Hope a charity which is raising funds for new state of the art cancer research projects.
Since joining the Writers Bureau he has written two books which are part fiction and part fact. Their aim is to inform children and young people about cancer.
In addition he has had numerous articles published in magazines highlighting his achievement and bringing his charity to the attention of the public. He says:
“The Writers Bureau has helped me enormously…my tutor’s comments have been very helpful. My writing style has improved and I have been able to establish a good relationship with editors so that everything I have set out to do has been published.
“I know that without the help and stimulation that I have received from the Writers Bureau that a target of £500,000 in one year would have been unachievable. I would have been lucky to raise one twentieth of the amount.
“The advice I have received from the Bureau has also helped me deal with the national, regional and local media. It is a conservative estimate that over 400 pieces of news coverage have reached an estimated 150 million people worldwide (if not more).
CHRIS BARRACLOUGH
Courses: NCTJ Magazine journalism
Chris enrolled two years ago. He was working for HMV records and wanted to changed careers to become a magazine journalist. He applied himself to the course with great enthusiasm, passed his NCTJ exams, learned all the relevant desktop publishing skills, and this year secured a job on the leading consumer magazine What Laptop.
Chris is proof of the fact that career changes can be done through distance learning, alongside a full-time job ... and that it is possible to get a top job in a highly competitive industry, beating off candidates from colleges and universities.
KEITH ROTHERY
Student with
Courses:
Personal Fitness Trainer, Nutrition and Weight Consultancy, Sports Nutrition, Clinical Personal Fitness Trainer, Anatomy and Physiology, Sports Massage
Keith lives near Woburn in Bedfordshire. For the past ten years he has been working as a security supervisor and trying to re-plan his life. Like most people he has had his “ups and downs”, but it was during the “downs” that Keith decided to do something about it. Keith believes that the best investment one can make is in one’s self. With this in mind he asked himself some hard questions, and set about changing his life, doing something that he believed in and had always loved.
As a youngster Keith was always very interested in sport and loved playing a good standard of football and boxing to keep fit. Sport is still a big passion of his, but in his mid-twenties he suffered a few hamstring injuries, which started to slow him down. Keith wanted to find out more and learn about these injuries, but had always put it off or gone about it half-heartedly. Then after the death of his mother, followed by a short marriage which ended in divorce, he left his job.
Keith then went into security, and in 2005, the opportunity to study became a reality. He came across BSY and eagerly sent off for a prospectus. After reading through the courses on offer, Keith started to plan his personal course of study. He set out to complete ten diplomas, each of which would help him to achieve his goal. It is a big challenge, but Keith has already successfully completed three diplomas in Sports Nutrition, Anatomy and Physiology and Sports Massage. Keith is well advanced with the fourth course - Clinical Personal Fitness Trainer and has also enrolled on Personal Fitness Trainer and Nutrition and Weight Consultancy.
Keith always enjoys his studies, ensuring that everything sinks in by having fun and involving the people he works with. Keith reads for an hour or two most nights and then he chats about the things he has learned. Keith finds that this works well for him. He also researches everything to get a different take on things. He sets himself high standards, which are reflected in his marks.
All the hard work has paid off. He is currently in talks with the physiotherapist at Stevenage Football Club regarding working with the young people and is talking to players about the important role nutrition plays in their fitness regimes.
ALAN VAN KLEEF
Course: Electrotechnical NVQ Level 3
Alan van Kleef’s inspirational story is one which shows how you can achieve life-changing results when you grab an opportunity with both hands.
Just a few years ago Alan was a musician and sound engineer. However as business slowed, he decided that his career needed a new lease of life in a brand new field. Alan felt that he could develop his skills in an exciting direction and improve his future prospects by gaining an industry recognised qualification from a reputable college. That’s when Alan contacted OLCI Construction Training, the UK’s number 1 construction training provider, and enrolled on our Electrotechnical NVQ Level 3 course. Alan was able to study his theory units at home and take practical training at one of our state-of-the-art training centres available nationwide.
Alan found the course prepared him for assessments in the qualification he needed to succeed and gave him the skills he needed to fuel his ambitions. Since gaining the qualifications he required, Alan started his own business, AV Electrics, doing electrical work for domestic and commercial customers, creating a business that’s developed a strong customer-base, thanks to his commitment to excellent customer service.
Alan’s business helped give him the security and opportunity he wanted so he’s now been able to start a family. For Alan, gaining his qualifications from OLCI wasn’t about prestige. It was about improving the direction of his life for the better: a priceless achievement.
DAVID JELLEY
Courses: Interior Design, Feng Shui
David has been a painter and decorator for most of his life, and has been a registered Dulux Select decorator for some time. In March 2008 David decided that he wanted to be able to offer his customers an interior design service, so he enrolled on our Successful Interior Design course.
Since starting his studies David has gone on to complete his course to a high level, and others such as the City & Guilds Certificate in Home Interior Design and a Certificate in Feng Shui.
David is currently working on this Professional Interior Design course, and is on target to achieve some very good grades.
NAVIAN SIMMS
Course: Sports Injuries
Prior to commencing his studies with us in 2008, Navian started his working life as a semi-professional rugby player. Unfortunately, due to a shoulder injury, he was forced to retire. Navian was keen to stay in the sports industry and so trained as a sports therapist in the USA. On returning to England Navian decided to study BSY’s Sports Injuries course. This qualification has led to employment with Bath Rugby Club, He also had the opportunity to fill in as Sports Injury Therapist for the Irish International rugby team during the Six Nations Tour and is now on call whenever the team tours in England.
We are very pleased with the way Navian has used his BSY qualification to make a new career and to work within a sport that he loves but can no longer play. We have been so impressed that we have appointed him to run our practical training sessions in the Bath area.
KATY LONG
Katy spent time in hospital during her teens and felt lucky to discover the wonder of yoga practice and relaxation. This led to her studying for and gaining holistic therapy skills and a holistic way of living opened up to her.
After qualifying at college in Swedish Body Massage, Anatomy and Physiology and Indian Head Massage. Katy also added Spiritual Healing, Reiki and Thai Foot Massage practitioner to her list of achievements.
In 2006 Katy discovered BSY and this enabled her to fulfil her deepest dream of becoming a Hatha Yoga Teacher. In addition, she has expanded her studies to include Pilates and Kinesiology. Katy is hoping to qualify as a curative hypnotherapist and professional relaxation therapist in the near future.
With mounting health issues and challenges in recent years, Katy truly feels that she has “come home” through the opportunity of studying from home with BSY. Katy enjoys research and says that she relishes “becoming lost in her studies and that the extensive choice of courses bring no end of colour, joy and positive benefits to her life”.
Having just embarked on BSY’s Advanced Crystal Healing and Nutritional Therapy courses she is now aiming to qualify in these areas and with such a wealth of knowledge and holistic skills already achieved she feels able to help others and bring this enrichment to their lives also.
BRIAN MADZOKERE
Course:
Instrumentation and Control
Brian was the first student we had enrolled from Africa (Botswana) and setting up the virtual examination was quite a challenge. Despite any difficulties he worked hard on the course and showed a good understanding of the work covered and produced accurate and complete assessment material to gain a sound pass.
“The qualification I gained gave me an opportunity to realise my abilities and improve my professional integrity. I am now working for a company Bio Medical Engineers in fixing medical equipment. The qualification has also helped me to get an influential management position and good salary package.”
IAN SHINE
Courses: NCTJ Magazine journalism
Ian enrolled 2 years ago, at which time he was a teacher, teaching English in Poland. He passed all of his NCTJ exams, including an astonishing 96% in law - he is in the running for a national NCTJ award.
This summer he secured a job as a sub editor on the Travel Trade Gazette, the prestigious B2B magazine.
Ian is living proof of the fact that you can study anywhere, and can facilitate a difficult and ambitious career change, through distance learning. He would never have made the transition using the traditional college route.
LUCY JEFFREYS
Courses:
Calibration
Lucy undertook the course very efficiently and showed a very good understanding of the subject matter. The assessment material submitted was of a very high standard.
“I am a laboratory Technician for a medical products company. I work within the Research & Development department and assist our engineers in setting up and performing test work. I test products and components to specific test methods and procedures. This is to ensure the performance of products within the market place are correct, and most importantly are compliant to specifications. I have cause to use numerous pieces of equipment that require calibration. Performing calibration on our in house equipment will be more cost effective and also prevent items being out of service while awaiting calibration. This will ensure equipment will be more accessible to us on a day to day basis.
This calibration course will aid us in calibrating not just lab equipment but other devices within our site.”
SUZANNE KAUFMAN
Courses: Manual and Computerised Bookkeeping & Accounting
Suzanne has recently completed a series of courses in Bookkeeping, gaining Distinction passes in all five modules! She is currently completing a course in Payroll Accounting.
She has managed this in spite of having two small children and a very busy family life.
Suzanne is now a registered Bookkeeper, running her own business. Her dedication and hard work have certainly paid off, and we are very proud of her achievements.
DENVER NEWTER
Courses:
Education Journalism
Denver comes from the Solomon Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, east of Papa New Guinea. The country is still rebuilding after a civil war that ended in 2003 and is one of the region’s poorest countries. The civil war left it nearly bankrupt.
Denver joined the course as a beginner in April 2010 and showed a real aptitude for journalism as well as a huge commitment to his studies.
He approached his country’s national daily newspaper, the Solomon Islands Star, and they started publishing his articles. He had a number of by-lined news stories and features published during the course.
He completed the course in 12 months – and two weeks after he finished, he was taken on by the Solomon Island Star as a part-time reporter.
Denver deserves this award as he is a fine example of how hard work and commitment can overcome genuine difficulties. He is forging himself a promising career.
His achievement also shows how distance learning can change the lives of people thousands of miles away and give them opportunities they would otherwise never have.
STEPHEN FERGUSON
Courses: Nutritional Therapy, Allergies, Herbalism, Kinesiology, Counselling, Homoeopathy, Footcare, Drama Healing Therapy, Clinical Personal Fitness Trainer, Massage, Iridology, Reflexology, Biochemic Medicine, Sports Injuries, Shiatsu, Naturopathy.
Stephen was born in the East End of London, where he grew up, and still lives. After some early brushes with the law, he decided that things had to change. He discovered that he had a gift for cooking, and was employed by top class hotels and restaurants including the Dorchester, The Ritz, Le Meridian and the Goring Hotel, ending up as a master chef. Then he became seriously ill.
Being ill made him want to study to find out more about health issues. He discovered BSY, and enrolled on a couple of the courses to test them out. When he saw how practical the courses were, and how they got straight to the point, he decided to do more, 17 more, in fact.
So far he has graduated in Nutritional Therapy, Allergies: Testing and Treatments, Advanced Herbalism, Kinesiology, Counselling Skills (Basic), Advanced Counselling Skills, Homoeopathy, Non-Surgical Footcare, Drama Healing Therapy, Clinical Personal Fitness Trainer, Massage, Iridology, Reflexology, Advanced Reflexology, Biochemic Medicine, Advanced Biochemic Medicine, Sports Injuries, Shiatsu, and Naturopathy.
He feels the courses are “very, very good”. So good in fact that he enrolled on two more, Advanced Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy (curative), which he is studying at the moment:
Stephen used to live on junk food and too much beer, but by changing
his diet, exercising regularly, and applying what he had learnt in his studies of nutrition, he lost weight and improved his health considerably, overcoming asthma and gastrointestinal problems. In short he turned his life around. It was then he decided he wanted to help others to do the same.
Now Stephen has a clinic in Harley Street, another in East Ham in East London, and Stephen visits clients in their own homes. Stephen has also written a book, How to Master Your Health and Happiness, which is available from Amazon.
Stephen believes that you have to understand how the whole body works and treat it holistically to bring about healing. By combining his PhD in Holistic Nutrition with all the different therapies he has studied with BSY, Stephen has been able to heal people who have not been helped by conventional medicine. Stephen has his own website (www.stephen-ferguson.co.uk) which contains video testimonials of some of the people he has helped.
LESLEY WILLOUGHBY
Student with
Courses:
Successful Life Coaching
Lesley has recently submitted her final assignement for her Life Coaching Practitioner course.
She has overcome some difficulties during her studies. Her mother, for whom she was the main carer, suffered several strokes during this time. She has also suffered the loss of her father and her husband has been suffering from bowel cancer, which has required surgery. Lesley herself has undergone surgery for a hysterectomy. In addition she cares for her own two children who both have special needs.
We are very pleased with Lesley’s perseverance with her studies and that she has managed to submit her final assignment to complete the course.
Premi Bonomally
Student with
Courses:
Advanced Reflexology
Advanced Aromatherapy
Hot Stone Therapy Course
Thai Massage
Premi is a Registered General Nurse and Therapeutic and Holistic Nurse Therapist specialising in complementary therapies in palliative care.
In 2000 Premi was selected to take a place on the Political Leadership Programme by the RCN Complementary Therapies Forum Committee. As part of her studies Premi had to work on an issue that would enhance patient’s care. Premi researched “Complementary Therapies should be accessible to all patients who have access to them”. As a result of her work her MP took the issue to the Secretary of State for Health and the Minister of Health.
Premi is also a member of the RCN Complementary Therapists Forum Committee. She has been an active member for six years producing research work and design policy in the field of Complementary Therapies for nurses. Premi contributed to guidelines and policy on good practice for Complementary Therapies in the clinical practice. Premi has also been an executive board member for the RCN South West Region representing nursing, therapeutic, clinical and supportive care for 9 years. Presently, Premi works as a therapist in a district hospital in Plymouth providing support and various therapies to staff in the emergency department and to all health care professionals who need them due to stress.
Premi grows her own flowers and herbs and manufactures natural and organic facials and body products for men and women.
Premi feels that BSY is an ideal establishment which enables students to continue their professional development in Complementary therapies. As Premi is in full time employment, she wanted to study at her own time and pace and felt that with a BSY course this was possible. Premi continues her studies and is currently enrolled on BSY’s Stress Consultant Course and Starting Your Own Complementary Business Course.
Le'Ron Burrows
Certificate in Commercial Management (accredited by the Chartered Institution Civil Engineering Surveyors)
Principles of Estimating, Measurement, Management, Law
Le’Ron enrolled for this course, in which students select four modules from five, in August 2010 and completed all of them, with a distinction in each, by November 2011. He is the first student to achieve such an excellent result in this course, which provides an entry route to the Diploma in Commercial Management.
Le’Ron, who is 29, lives and works in the beautiful island of New Providence, Bahamas. He is an Assistant Quantity Surveyor with Bahamas Hot Mix Co. and was sponsored by his company. He recounts that a professor once told him that a person who does not pay attention in class spends the rest of his live on the roadside counting utility poles while others pass by. Many years later, not only does he happen to be counting utility poles but he has also become a proud and active project team member responsible for drafting and measuring civil works. In addition, he assists in analysis, tracking and management of major infrastructure and road projects.
Le'Ron regards education is the key for betterment in modern times and that undertaking the Certificate in Commercial Management course has afforded him that opportunity.
REBECCA ROACH
Course: Successful Interior Design
Rebecca has recently been awarded a certificate of Merit for the completion of 13 modules from the course Successful Interior Design and is now managing a successful and thriving Interior Design Practice in Eastbourne. Since enrolling she has given up a career in Marketing to care for her two young children and study her course.
During her studies Rebecca redecorated some rooms in her house and began to build up contacts with tradesmen. One of these traded a day of tiling for advice on his home. From this she was then inspired to open trade accounts and set up her business at home offering advice to clients and providing recommended tradespersons when requested.
She does not advertise, making her business solely on client recommendation and has completed jobs for mostly private clients. She has recently completed a commercial job where she has redesigned and re-branded a Window and Furniture shop; from this she is now the shop’s exclusive Interior Designer. Her upcoming jobs now include a Café and a 27 bedroom hotel.
We are very impressed by Rebecca’s resourceful and clever approach to starting a business on a limited budget; making the most of her time and receiving such high recommendations from her clients.
NICHOLAS KONTOU
Courses: Calibration, Instrumentation & Control
When Nicky contacted us he was unemployed and had decided to study whilst seeking new employment. He was and still is the most outstanding student we have had undertaking these two D/L courses. Throughout each course his answers were near perfect and he completed both courses in record time.
“ The courses gave me knowledge and confidence having just been made redundant from the semiconductor industry, due to factory closure. I was able to move forward in the wind power industry where I have been able to utilise the knowledge gained from the OakCad – NCT courses. The courses were easy to understand and the backup from the tutors was excellent.”
RIA COHEN
Courses: Pre and Post-Natal Yoga Teacher, Personal Fitness Trainer
When Ria started studying with BSY she was a domestic violence lawyer in Cornwall with an interest in keeping fit. After completing her BSY Diploma in Personal Fitness Trainer in 2007 she set up a bridal boot camp to train brides wishing to drop a dress size before their weddings.
In May 2008 she was made redundant by her law firm,. Devastated, she knew it would be difficult to find a similar job in the locality. She decided to focus her attention on her fitness career. She studied for and qualified as a Yoga Teacher, and immediately got offers to run classes. Since then she has also studied Pre and Post Natal Yoga.
Ria set up her own school of Yoga, which is called “Pink Lotus”. She runs pregnancy classes, and has recently started a group called “Mellow Mammas”, which is a power pramming group for mothers with babies in pushchairs!
We are very proud of Ria’s determination to build a new career out of an interest, and to recover from the devastating experience of being made redundant from a job she loved.
THOMAS IAN SURGENOR
Course: Instrumentation and Control
Ian has undertaken the course while working in a demanding job as a validation officer. He has worked in a steady and diligent way to produce high quality solutions to the in-course assignments. His work on the on-line end of practical work, using the NCT Virtu-Lab, was excellent and he is a worthy recipient of a Certificate of Merit.
Ian is now working on the Calibration module and we are anticipating the same high quality of work from a very good distance learning student.
“As a Validation Officer, the main component of my job involves performing validations and re-qualifications of our steam sterilisation cycles. In addition I also have responsibility for calibration and calibration verification of critical temperature measuring equipment used during this process.
Within the company, all manufactured product is processed through steam/ air mixture autoclaves. This is one of the most critical stages of manufacture and as such is subject to rigorous control and validation. During qualification of our steam sterilisation cycles thermal validation data is obtained using thermocouples and data loggers. These measure the instantaneous temperature and cumulative heat history of manufactured product and the autoclave environment. The equipment must be calibrated to comply to very specific criteria and must be capable of consistent and reliable performance.
Calibration of this equipment as well as the operating mechanisms involved with the steam sterilisers means that I have a high level of interaction with many varying types of sensors, gauges and measuring equipment. Examples include Resistant Temperature Devices (RTD) and pressure gauges. Other processes within the mnufacturing area also use proximity sensors, humidity sensors and load cells.
Completion of the Instrumentation and Control qualification has given me a valuable insight into the control of systems and processes. It has furthered my understanding of the work that I perform on a daily basis as well as giving me information on other processes within the manufacturing area which could be beneficial to both me and the company in the future.”
JETHRO HEALY
Student with
Course: City and Guilds 6129 Level 3 / ACS Gas
Jethro came to the UK from South Africa where he was a farmer. He spent many years toiling doing different jobs including building, banking and sales.
He had a desire to become self employed and was inspired to start changing his career by shoddy workmanship of the tradesman who fitted the kitchen, to a poor standard, in his own home. Realising he could have done a better job himself he initially spoke with a friend who gave him some basic training. This led to Jethro pursuing a formal qualification within the plumbing sector.
Jethro started his training with OLCI Construction Training by doing the City and Guilds 6129 level 2 training which led to assessment and a certificate which was completed in July 2009. Since then he has continued his training, this included 10 days of gas training, which was completed on the 5th November 2010. He is in the process of building his on site portfolio of evidence prior to doing his ACS gas assessments. He is also working towards his NVQ on site assessments and is hoping to have this completed very shortly.
He set up his own business on completion of the City and Guilds 6129 level 2 certificate. This business, Ecoflo Ltd, has been running for, close to, two years now and is thriving despite all of the time he has spent training!
This has led Jethro to employing students that he has made contact with during training at OLCI Construction Training. He has empathised with the students who are in the same position that he found himself in just a few years ago. He realises how difficult it is to gain knowledge and experience, getting a foot hold on the ladder of the industry. These students, including Matthew Bell, are being given the opportunity to gain experience and complete qualifications that they would not have been able to do otherwise.
Jethro is enjoying his new career and the freedom it gives him and he realises that he would not have been able to achieve this without gaining a formal qualification. He is very keen to continue his training which includes his ACS gas assessments, NVQ and possibly in the future new technologies such as Solar Thermal and Heat Pumps.
KAYLEIGH ASHFORD
Student with
Course: Puppy training and Socialisation
Kayleigh Ashford was one of the first students to complete this Level III for the pet superstore group Pets at Home. She received a Distinction and there is no doubt that her work was outstanding.
Kayleigh has worked for Pets at Home for five years and was promoted to Assistant Manager very quickly. She is currently a designate manager travelling around stores covering for staff and advising on problems. Previously she was a manager and head falconer at a Bird of Prey centre working with both the birds and running the reptile section.
She has a menagerie at home - three dogs, two rabbits, two Bearded Dragons and two Aquaria - so is clearly dedicated to animal care. She organises and runs numerous events for various dog charities, particularly Greyhound Rescue and Dogs Trust
OLIVER HUDSON
Student with
Courses:
Successful Interior Design
City & Guilds Home Interior Design
Professional Interior Design
City & Guilds Advanced Interior Design
Oliver is one of our youngest students; he studied both Interior Design courses whilst only 17 years old. He completed his first course in just five months, and the second in the following six months. Alongside these two courses, Oliver also participated in both City & Guilds certificates available on the Interior Design courses within the same sitting.
Oliver reports that since completing the Interior Design courses he is now employed as a professional bespoke kitchen designer.
Janice Speddings
Student with
Janice has completed her Complete Writing course with exceptional grades. She has written a book which is currently under review by a Publishing company - the book is about the spirituality of attending a Gym with each chapter relating to particular equipment as a metaphor for an area of life.
Janice constantly achieves good grades in her studies and is also studying on the Creative Drawing and Painting and Understanding Art and its History to broaden her knowledge and further inspire her writing.
SEAN MALLET
Courses:
More than twenty-five courses in Physical Training, Alternative and Complementary Therapies, from Acupressure to Yoga.
Sean is a former professional boxer and kick-boxer who now manages a gym in Brighton. Since starting his first studies with BSY in 2006, Sean has gone on to study over 25 courses. He obtains consistently good grades and is an excellent example of how easy it is to fit distance learning courses around a busy lifestyle.
Sean has applied the skills he has gained to help improve physical fitness among members of the Brighton and Hove groups of the Special Olympics. In July 2009 his efforts included preparing swimmers and power weightlifters for the National Summer Games in Leicester.
We are extremely proud of Sean’s achievements, not only as our student but in his work giving people with disabilities the chance to demonstrate their own sporting talents.
NEIL SNELSON
Courses:
Sports Electro Therapy : Sports Injuries
Currently Studying Sports Psychology and Sports Nutrition
Neil’s interest in sports injuries started when his three children were old enough to play sports. Neil has been a first aider for many years and was ‘sponge man’ in his children’s activities.
Throughout the following years Neil learned many things but decided to take a course in Sports Injuries to boost his knowledge. Whilst on the course it gave Neil the confidence to make a huge change, follow a dream and start up his own sports therapy business. Eighteen months ago Neil left a well paid job and started his business. Neil’s client list was small to begin with, however, it is growing every week and Neil loves what he is doing.
Recently Neil has also taken and passed a Sports Electo-therapy course and is currently enrolled on Sports Psychology and Sports Nutrition Courses. He has a website for his business which he updates with the knowledge he has gained and keeps this website current and relevant as he enjoys helping people in this area even though this gives him no financial gain.
Neil has a passion to help relieve the suffering of people inflicted with sports injuries and feels that he would do this for free if he could.
CAMPBELL M GOLD
Courses:
Proofreading for Profit, TEFL, Communication Skills, Iridology,Curative Hypnotherapy, Body Language, Biochemic Medicine
Campbell enrolled with BSY Group back in 2002 and has continuedto study with us for the last 9 years. He has obtained excellent grades for each of his courses, four of which were above of standard of ‘exceptional merit’. He is an excellent example of our hardworking and committed student base, of which we are very proud.
ANDRE PAUL GAFFNEY
Student with
Courses:
Successful Interior Design
Since completing his Successful Interior design course and successfully completing the City and Guilds certificate. André applied to a job with an Interior Design Firm that was recruiting and was shortlisted from 60 to 6 to attend an interview. Using the work he had already completed from his Successful Interior Design course and his current Professional Interior Design course he created a portfolio for interview. He was then shortlisted to the final 2 to be interviewed by the MD and Head of Interior Design at the firm and was selected for the job.é
André began on 20hrs per week and has since increased his workload to 36.5 hrs per week, and is now co-running the head office Interior Design branch. He was told that the work he presented at interview had a lot to do with his appointment as it showed he has been taught a clear understanding of design.
We are very proud of André’s achievements since the completion of his first course and are looking forward to his completion the Professional Interior Design course.
CLARE PEARSHOUSE
Courses:
Holistic Aromatherapy Facial Treatments, Children’ Yoga, Pilates, Advanced Yoga Teacher (Hatha Yoga), Chi Kung, Ashtanga Yoga, Nutrition, Holistic Nutritional Therapy, Yoga Teacher Diploma, Allergies Testing and Treatment, Natural Health Practice Management, Advanced Meditation, Meditation Teacher, Yoga Intermediate, Hopi Ear Candling, Meditation and Healing, Yoga Beginners, Indian Head Massage, Aromatherapy Specialist Treatments, Advanced Aromatherapy, Weight Consultancy, Tai Chi Chuan, Thai Massage, Feng Shui,
Clare first enrolled with BSY Group in 2005 on an Aromatherapy course as she wanted to become a holistic therapist. A home study course appealed to Clare because she was working full time and this enabled her to study and work at the same time. Also, as Clare is dyslexic she found that home study gave her the opportunity to go at her own pace. Clare really enjoyed the course and went on to study more therapy courses as well as training to become a yoga teacher. To date Clare has completed twenty two BSY Courses and is currently enrolled on a further five courses covering Massage, Weight Consultancy and Feng Shui.
Clare has taken advantage of her qualifications obtained through BSY and has opened up her own holistic therapy business as well as teaching yoga. This was something she had only dreamed of in the past.
NATASHA FERGUSSON
Course: Music Journalism
Music journalism course student Natasha Ferguson's blog has been selected by music giant RCA to promote Beyoncé's new album.
RCA Label Group - part of Sony - looked at her blog from a re-tweet and liked what they saw.
So Natasha will be exclusively releasing tracks and quotes from the pop celebrity until the new album "4" is released on June 28.
Natasha tells us: 'I was so honoured, proud and excited, all at the same time!'
'They told me to promote as and when I like to all my social sites. Facebook and Twitter have already had the Beyoncé skin applied!'
CTJT director Cleland Thom said: 'This is an amazing achievement. We encourage all our students to have blogs - Natasha is living proof of why that's so important.'
Leisa Turnbull
Course: ICB Career Path
Leisa registered for our full Career Path:
Manual Bookkeeping Levels I-III
Computer Based Bookkeeping Levels II and III
Payroll management
Small Business Financial Control
This is quite an undertaking....so to complete her studies in 6 months is quite astonishing. What makes this even more impressive is that in the ICB exams she achieved a Distinction in every exam.
Leisa then decided to enrol for a further course with us rather than taking a well deserved break – she also sailed through this Self Assessment Taxation course.
Leisa was nominated for ICB ‘student of the year’ award and attended their annual award ceremony.
Donna Dymond
Courses:
Advanced Counselling Skills
Advanced Stress Consultant
Donna has overcome many obstacles and is now living a successful and fulfilled life.
At the age of eighteen Donna became very unwell and upon investigation she was diagnosed with diabetes. Donna adjusted her life to this and went on to study and pass her BTEC National Diploma in Social Care and BTEC First Diploma in Leisure Studies. During her studies at college Donna discovered she had dyslexia. She had always felt she was stupid at school and this explained years of feeling confused about her learning abilities.
Donna gained a number of qualifications and whilst working at an eating disorder charity she decided to gain qualifications in counselling. She decided to study with BSY as she could work at her own pace and have no pressure with deadlines. Donna successful passed the Advanced Counselling Skills and Advanced Stress Consultant courses with BSY and for a number of years worked as an auxiliary nurse and also in the Department of Work and Pensions. She felt the courses she studied with BSY equipped her to deal with the difficult situations that arise in these work environments.
Donna now works as a tutor at BSY and is also currently studying BSY’s Colour Therapy and Life Coaching Courses.
Monique Arbaud
Non-Surgical Footcare Specialist
Monique in one of our more mature students. She was born in 1936 in Lyon and moved to England in 1990. Monique is a widow with two children and three grandchildren.
Monique qualified for an NVQ level 3 in social care in 2007 whilst working essentially in caring for the elderly. She then started studying with BSY and in 2010 she qualified with a 90% grade in Non Surgical Footcare.
Monique has carried on caring for the elderly in a residential home and spends most of her time training the younger employees. She has also used her new skills in footcare to set up a footcare practice in Bristol and has gained some very happy clients.
Monique has no plans to retire and her ability to speak French, English and Italian has helped her tremendously in all her past and present achievements. She hopes that her story will encourage people of any age to carry on learning and getting new skills “even if, they have almost reached the age of retirement, which for some means doing nothing more with their life”.
MARTIN PYLE
Studying AutoCAD
Martin is currently serving in Afghanistan with 24 Commando Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, on Operation Herrick 14. It is his second tour and on this tour he has been working in the Construction Supervision Cell (CSC) as a Surveyor Engineer.
Also in the CSC are a Draughtsmen (Construction), an Electrical and Mechanical Draughtsmen, a Clerk of works (Construction), Clerk of works (Mechanical), Clerk of works (Electrical), and a Military Plant Foreman (MPF).
He has completed a number of jobs including Site Plans, As Build Surveys, Levelling of sites, Highway Design and Drainage Design. To complete this he has been using Leica 1200+ GPS kit as well as Liscad SEE, which is a program for downloading data and presenting it.
The drawings produced are required in a PDF format as this is the only way that they can be seen by people on the front line.
In order to get the information into the required PDF format, Martin had to sit down with a draughtsmen (who was busy with other work), to sort out the drawings. This became very time consuming and also very annoying as it was often hard for the draughtsman to create exactly what was needed. Therefore Martin took it upon himself to complete the CAD qualification.
Martin said: “I found this course to be very beneficial and also very good in teaching how to use AutoCAD. I completed it while out on Operation Herrick 14, and I can now produce drawings to a very good standard. The draughtsmen still need to go round and tidy up a few little bits, but in the main the drawing is of a very high and professional standard.”
Rodica Petrea
Courses:
Institute of Certified Bookkeepers Membership
Certificate in Bookkeeping
Level I
Certificate in Manual Bookkeeping Level II
Certificate in Computerised Bookkeeping Level II
Diploma in Manual Bookkeeping Level III
Diploma in Computerised Bookkeeping Level III
Rodica enrolled for the course in August and passed all five examinations, with a Distinction in each, to qualify for full Membership of the Institute by the end of November. This is something of a record and is certainly a remarkable achievement! (She did very well on her course assignments too.)
Rodica writes: “I am 23 years old, originating from a tiny country called Moldova. I took my Bachelor’s degree in Economics in June 2010 (in my country), studied business and finance in the US for a year, and finally just completed a Book-keeping course with DLP.ICB Membership. I have a thirst for knowledge, ambition and big dreams. Studying at DLP was a great experience and I must say that I really had fun while studying :) Not because there were any funny pictures in my study materials but most because this course was a constant challenge which I was determined to tackle. And on top of all, I had the best tutor ever.”
Rodica was placed 1st out of 16 graduates in specialties at the University of Moldova and was an exchange student at Grambling State University Louisiana USA after being awarded a fellowship through the Global UGRAD in Eurasia & Central Asia Program. She was a volunteer at a local centre for children with special needs in Moldova and founded a joint Association ‘Avante’ in 2005 which aimed to engage teenagers to participate in community projects.
BARBARA BEAUMONT-JAMES
Student with
Courses: Understanding Antiques, Understanding Style in Antiques, Understanding Art History, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
Barbara has completed three Diploma courses and received high grades; for her most recent she received a Distinction. Barbara has recently enrolled on the Nutritional Therapy practitioner course, and hopes that her previous experience as a nurse will inform her studies.
JULIE PHILLIPS
Courses: Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Life Skills Coaching, Meditation Teacher, Yoga Teacher, Advanced Stress Consultant, Professional Hypnotherapy, Acupuncture/Acupressure, Kinesiology, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychotherapy
After completing NLP Life Skills Coaching, Meditation Teacher and Advanced Meditation Teacher with good grades Julie advertised her services on a community based internet site. She was contacted by an experiences gift company and asked to provide services for their ‘zen and spa’ range of gifts. This has led to her being a supplier of services to a number of other large national retail stores who also supply similar services. She has also started to work in a complementary therapies practice, and as part of a local enterprise partnership she is working in schools teaching basic business and life coaching skills. As if this were not enough, Julie is working with teachers and pupils in the South Wales area on a bespoke basis offering meditation, relaxation, stress management and coaching around certain issues such as change and transition.
Julie’s plan is to give up her part-time job and become a full time life coach and therapist within 12 months. We are impressed with Julie’s ability to build a successful career on the basis of her qualifications. With the wide choice of subjects that she has studied and the broad range of opportunities she has successfully pursued, she is quickly building a whole new career for herself.
SALLY GARLAND
Student with
Courses:
Successful Interior Design and Feng Shui
Sally completed the Successful Interior Design course with the Regent Academy. Since completing her course she has started her own practice in Interior Design.
She has also been asked to become a speaker for a local Adult Learning Centre to discuss her experiences with other students. We are very impressed with Sally’s achievements since completing her course.
GAYLE KAUFMANN
Student with
Courses:
Curative Hypnotherapy
Business Development
Depression Management
Neuro Linguistic Programming
Life Coaching
Following surgery in 2009 Gayle has completed a Diploma in Curative Hypnotherapy and achieved a high grade. She has since gone on to complete 2 further Professional Certificates in Depression Management and Business Development and is nearly completed on her Diploma in Neuro Linguistic Programming.
Gayle has managed to study these courses whilst recovering from her surgery and believes she has completed more studying now than she has in the whole of her life. We have been impressed with Gayle’s perseverance with her courses and constant high grades.
JANET HAMMOND
Courses:
Holistic Nutritional Therapy: Nutritional Therapy: Nutrition
Vegetarian & Vegan Nutritional Therapy: Sports Nutrition Diploma
Studying at present -
Dietary Therapy Diploma Course: Nutrition and Weight Consultancy Course: Professional Relaxation Therapist : Sports Psychology
Janet Hammond has been nominated as she has overcome her visual impairment to complete five BSY courses.
Janet has experienced many obstacles in the past to obtaining an education, due to being partially sighted. This affected the confidence she had in herself and her ability to study the subjects she enjoys.
For many years Janet had tried to find out how to acquire qualifications in holistic therapies only to go around in circles. After much searching she eventually found help from the Careers Department at the City College in Norwich, who suggested she contact BSY. Janet was assured that any qualifications acquired with BSY would be recognised within the holistic therapy world.
Janet uses a scanner to read her lessons. She not only enjoys studying for the diplomas, when she passes an exam she feels overwhelmed due to her experiences in the past. Even now as a blind person Janet has achieved outstanding grades in the courses she has completed, and is progressing well in her ongoing studies.
TRACEY DISDEL
Courses: Massage, Sports Massage, Hot Stone Therapy, Advanced Aromatherapy, Pregnancy and Baby Massage
Tracey began her studies with BSY in January 2008 after relocation resulted in a change of direction and since then she has started her own business which now has over 100 clients.
Tracey is currently working with 5 Primary Schools offering Aromatherapy clubs for 5-10 year olds and teaching 14-16 year old in Comprehensive schools. She is also employed as an outside speaker to encourage teenagers.
Working with social enterprises that are Government funded, she has been running ‘Kidz Camp’, giving Hot Stone taster sessions and other enterprises for carers of disabled people and working with disabled children who respond to aroma of essential oils.
We are very impressed with Tracey’s determination and that she is able to use the skills she has gained to provide a valuable service for her community.
MOHAMED ELAIDA
Student with
Mohamed, from Malta, is an outstanding student who has achieved top marks in his course and has been rewarded with his Diploma as a result of his exceptional diligence.
Mohamed enrolled with us in October 2006 for the Diploma in Commercial Management, a course that we run with the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors as one of the routes towards Membership. The course is at postgraduate level and comprises Civil Engineering Construction, Civil Engineering Contracts Administration and Civil Engineering Management, each of which contains more than one discrete subject. Students write 33 in-course assignments and three Final Assignments sent separately to them for completion within two weeks or a single overall Final Assignment for completion within a month. Mohammed chose the latter, harder option and completed the course in May 2011 with a distinction in every module and with an overall Distinction. He is the only student to whom our Tutor, Hamish Mitchell, has ever awarded 100% for an assignment.
Mohamed started his career as a Quantity Surveyor in 1988, after gaining a diploma in architecture and urban planning. He has been involved in many major civil engineering projects, including hydro-electric power plant, power station, freeport and hospital. With over 22 years’ experience in quantity surveying and commercial management, working both for the Contractor (1988-2005) and for the Client (2005 – to date), he nevertheless felt that there was always room for improvement of his skills. He writes: “Although it wasn’t easy balancing the family needs and study, I always managed to find time to study and prepare my assignments. This was usually done either late at night or very early in the morning.” Mohamed is now considering a Masters Degree course in Project Management. He feels that the course in Commercial Management not only helped him with his work but also has helped him to pass his membership interviews for three professional bodies.
ROSA AMOROSO
Student with
Rosa lives in South Mimms in Hertfordshire and was born and raised in London's East End. She is building her own house with her partner and decided to take the OLCI plumbing course, so she could install the plumbing and many of the renewables, hence the need of the practical side of the training, not just the theory.
Rosa completed a 6129 City and Guilds Plumbing course in November in 2010.She then decided to embark on the Renewable courses ,studying and passing the unvented course ,allowing her to then progress on to the Green Engineer Framework.
Rosa first studied the Air to Water and Ground Source Heat Pumps at OLCI London centre successfully passing the course, she had put a lot of effort into the theory side of the course and this was reflected in her results. She then decided to further her studies by under taking the OLCI Solar Thermal Course which she passed with flying colours.
Rosa liked the training at the OLCI centre because she could study at her own time and pace which suited her very well, and liked the theory and the practical sides to the courses .She has plans to undertake other Green Renewable Energy Courses with OLCI Construction Training including Rainwater Harvesting, Heat Recovery and Solar PV.
TINA CONNOR
Courses: Colour Therapy, Parapsychology, Childcare and Education, Advanced Criminology, Forensic Psychology, Man, Myth & Magic, Crystal Healing, Education Psychology, Child Protection
Tina Connor is 26 years old and currently lives in Cambridge. Tina works with children with special needs, autism and other behavioural problems. She helps them at school or in their own homes to develop social and life skills, including teaching them to read. Tina has now graduated from ten courses, including Colour Therapy, Parapsychology, Childcare and Education, Advanced Criminology, Forensic Psychology, Health Care (Managing Challenging Behaviour), Man, Myth & Magic, Crystal Healing, Education Psychology and Child Protection. Tina is currently studying eight further courses with BSY.
Tina has visual impairment as she has a rare congenital disorder called Hallermann-Streiff Syndrome. Tina has no sight in her left eye and only 25% in her right eye, with no peripheral vision at all. However, she has good sight in the centre and can read clearly. As a result of her visual impairment she was unable to study criminology and forensic science at university, as excellent vision is required to collect evidence. However Tina was very pleased when she was able to study these subjects with BSY.
Initially Tina took her BSY courses for interest and to complement her degree studies, but her BSY qualifications have gone much further than that. Tina’s CV is very impressive and she says her awards from BSY really impress potential employers. It has also given her much more confidence and lots to talk about when she is being interviewed.
Although Tina’s medical issues mean she faces an uncertain future, she feels that she can honestly say that life has been wonderful. Tina has done a lot more than she ever thought possible. She has had fun, a great social life with fantastic friends and has been able to help children in great need. BSY courses have definitely been a part of this success story and have played a huge part in the next stage of Tina’s life; Tina has now got a place at Cambridge University to study a Master’s degree in counselling.
Amma Jane Stevens
Courses: Over 50 courses, including -
24 BSY Practitioner Courses
10 BSY Professional Development Courses
20 BSY New Age Foundation Courses
1 BSY General Interest Course
Amma Jane has been studying with BSY since 2006 and has completed over 50 courses. This has taken her on what she feels is a deep and meaningful journey in her life. This exploration has opened her mind to other cultures, belief systems, philosophies and natural healing methods for mind, body and spirit. As a person, she feels she has been enriched through learning with BSY. Her ultimate challenge was to engage in public speaking as she has always been very shy. “Effective Public Speaking” was one of the BSY courses she studied. This year her challenge was fulfilled when she did a live broadcast with National TV on a psychic channel where she used her skills and knowledge from subjects she studied with BSY’s New Age Foundation Courses. She feels her journey with BSY has catapulted her onto a meaningful path of self discovery aiding in broadening her horizons and mind. She feels it has also assisted her in embracing the lives of others and increased her ability to listen and share with others.
Moolchand Dubey
Courses:
Moolchand registered for our full Career Path:
Manual Bookkeeping Levels I-III
Computer Based Bookkeeping Levels II and III
Payroll management
Small Business Financial Control
This is quite an undertaking....so to complete his studies in 4 months is quite astonishing. What makes this even more impressive is that in the ICB exams he achieved a Distinction in every exam. He then decided to enrol for a further course with us rather than taking a well deserved break.
Moolchand was nominated for ICB ‘student of the year’ award which we are delighted to say he won at their annual award ceremony.
Jane Henderson
Student with
Course: How to Buy and Sell Antiques
Jane works for a charity that often gets items from house clearing and she has managed to successfully identify some valuable objects - she has entered some of these into auction and already raised over £200 for her charity.
Jane has enrolled onto the How to Buy and Sell Antiques course to utilise her skills and further develop her knowledge. She has so far achieved some very good grades on her course and continues to use this in her charity work.
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