Henry’s Story

Name: Henry

Hometown: Isles of Scilly

Previous school: Five islands Academy

Courses studied at College: Modern History, Geography and Politics A Levels

Academies: Academic Academy

What’s next: Studying Geography at Exeter University

Unlike most students, Henry has had to make changes to his everyday life in order to get the education he wanted.

Henry lives with his mum, dad and six siblings on the Isles of Silly throughout the holidays but during term time lives in St. Austell with relatives, enabling him to go further and get the education he wanted at Truro and Penwith College.

Henry commented: “I cannot get from the Isles of Scilly to Truro College every day, so during term time I stay with family in St Austell. Sometimes when I do go home over a holidays or weekends, I get up Monday morning and catch a helicopter to Penzance and a bus to Truro to get to lessons on time.”

Alongside his A Levels, Henry excelled with extracurricular support from Truro College’s dedicated Enrichment programme, adding Academic Academy to his studies and getting involved with the Student Council.

Henry continued: “I joined the Student Council just over a year ago; I was elected as Chair and it has been a great experience for me. I have been able to develop my leadership and organisational skills.

“The Student Council allows us students to have a voice and allows us to have a representative who is a part of the college and advocates for student needs.”

Henry did not stop at Chair of the Student Council and has recently been appointed Student Governor. The Student Governor represents the views of all the students at Truro College and works with the Student Council to continuously improve the College experience.

Henry said: “As the Student Governor I use my experience as a student to support the decisions of the College’s Board of Governors. This has really helped me expand my networking skills and learn how to operate efficiently.”

The College has many opportunities for students to get involved with various activities, competitions, and challenges. Henry continued: “I came to Truro College because of the opportunities it had to offer. The courses I have chosen all link together and covering the same topic but in different ways. For example, we learned about globalisation through a geographic lens but [we] also see how it is affected in a political sense. This all helps me gain a greater understanding.”

Henry’s advice to prospective students is: “Don’t be afraid to take the opportunities when they approach you. Sometimes you just need to say yes.”

After college Henry will be taking a gap year, before studying Geography at Exeter University on the Penryn campus, to work with employers in the industry and expand his holistic understanding of the world.