Derek’s Story

Name: Derek

Former School: Redruth School

Subjects Studied:  A Level Chemistry, Law and Psychology with the Law Academy.

Set on studying Law at university, Derek has taken steps in the right direction during his time at Truro and Penwith College, including joining the Law Academy in his second year and also being selected for Exeter University’s ‘Pathways to Law’ programme, a UK leading Russell Group university.

Derek explains: “I mainly came [To Truro College] because I knew I wanted to study A Levels, and other places didn’t offer Law and that was the one I wanted to study most.

“There’s something for everyone. [The range of courses] are quite broad and allowed for lots of diversity, and for lots of students to enjoy what they like doing.”

Alongside studying A Levels in Law, Chemistry and Psychology, Derek joined the Law Academy, which is part of the College’s wider Enrichment offer and provides students with a variety of opportunities to extend their legal knowledge and develop a multitude of skills.

Derek continued: “You gain a lot of experiences you wouldn’t have done by just doing A Level Law. It definitely helps to give an insight into what going into Law would be like as a career.”

Derek also found out about an opportunity to join a programme in conjunction with Exeter University, his first-choice university, through his Tutor at Truro College.

Derek explained: “I was part of ‘Pathways to Law’ with Exeter University, which is a national programme run by 12 universities, being selected means you are more likely to get contextual offers from other universities and you get to see what Law is like at university. I found out about the opportunity from my Tutor at College. They helped with the application process.

“It was really useful because it allowed me to see what Law is like at university and even though I knew about Law A level it’s really different at uni.”

Outside of his studies, Derek was also a member of the Student Council at College as well as being a Student Ambassador.

After joining the College during the Covid-19 pandemic, Derek found that becoming a Student Ambassaor allowed him to give students who visited the College the experience he missed out on due to lockdown restrictions.

Derek said: “I was able to offer advice to other first-year students and because I joined during Covid-19 years we didn’t have that luxury of visiting the College itself, and everything was done online, so I think being able to give students advice on how the College operates was really useful.”

Derek’s advice to future students is: “Apply for courses you’d want to do and that you like. Don’t choose a course you wouldn’t enjoy and when you get to second year don’t overwork yourself!”

Derek is now hoping to head to one of the UK’s leading Russell Group universities, Exeter University in September to continue his studies in Law.