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STUDENT STORIES
Kate Smith
Kate enrolled on the Access to Higher Education Healthcare Professions course in 2021. She juggled her Access course with taking care of her 4 children, 3 of whom have additional needs. During her course, Kate managed to strike a balance between her home life and her studies, and her confidence in her own abilities soared. Kate applied to Liverpool John Moores University and received an unconditional offer to study Nursing. Since graduating from Blackburne House, Kate has gone from strength to strength with her Higher Education and has found her calling in Nursing.
Lauren McCall
Lauren enrolled at Blackburne House to complete her Maths and English GCSEs, and was soon inspired to enrol on the Certificate in Creative Arts. Here, she found her passion for painting and started her own business selling custom made canvas art. After graduating from Blackburne House, Lauren undertook further study in Art and Design before doing an apprenticeship in Content Production. Her apprenticeship led to a full time job in Social Media and Marketing, and she is progressing in her career and looking forward to expanding her role with a team of her own.
Rahana Bennett
Rahana enrolled on to the Level 2 Complementary Therapies course as she was interested in learning about natural healing. She found her passion in holistic therapies and proceeded to complete both the Level 3 and Level 4 Complementary Therapies courses, all while working and bringing up her 3 children as a single mum. This challenge inspired Rahana to start her own business, using holistic therapies to heal and help others. She started her business in 2020 and, despite the challenges of lockdowns, has successfully built her client base through her hard work and use of the specialist skills she learned at Blackburne House.
Irma Farrés Vilà
Before returning to education, Irma was volunteering in a variety of roles as well as working as a cleaner in a mental health hospital since 2011. Her voluntary work led to her initial interest in Complementary Therapies. Irma attended L4 Complementary Therapies at Blackburne House in 2020, and during the year she found her first part time job as a Complementary Therapist. She is now running her own business, Five Bodies Wellbeing, in Liverpool city centre. During her time at Blackburne House, Irma gained the knowledge and confidence to materialise her dream of owning a business and helping her clients with their wellbeing.
Ellie-Mae Mulry
Ellie-Mae enrolled on the Access to Healthcare Professions course in 2018. She initially had little confidence in herself, and was worried about juggling her course with supporting her daughter as a single mum. She was able to find support at Blackburne House and balanced studying with motherhood and working in Blackburne House Bistro. Upon completing her course, Ellie-Mae was accepted to study Psychology at Edge Hill University. She has excelled in her studies and her confidence and is now studying a Masters degree in Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Catherine Lee
Catherine started the Pre-GCSE Maths and English online courses at Blackburne House during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2021. After completing these courses, Catherine found the confidence to enrol on the Maths and English GCSE courses as well as the Pre-Access Certificate in Healthcare. Her successes at Blackburne House and the specialist skills she learned led to her undertaking a degree in Operating Department Practice at Edge Hill University. She has loved her time working and learning in the operating theatre. She has found her passion and is looking forward to a fantastic career as an Anaesthetist.
Yosra Mekni Habbachi
Yosra completed her degree in Management and Information Systems in Tunisia before moving to Liverpool in 2011. She started her journey at Blackburne House by enrolling on an ESOL course to improve her English. After working hard to build her language skills, she enrolled on the GCSE Maths & English courses, which qualified her to study at Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated from university in 2022 with a Masters degree in Computing and Information Systems. Her tutors at Blackburne House encouraged her to follow her dream of becoming a secondary school teacher, and she is now working as a Maths tutor while still pursuing her teaching goals.
Tia Welch
Tia completed her Bachelors degree in Business Management in 2019 before starting her job at Blackburne House as a Data Compliance Officer. During her time working at Blackburne House, Tia was inspired to enrol on the Award in Education and Training after seeing how much of a positive impact training has on the women who study at Blackburne House. Completing this course gave her the confidence to enrol on both the IT User Skills and Assessors courses, which will help her to further her career and build her skills. Tia has balanced work, studying and raising her son as a single mother and has successfully started teaching at Blackburne House, becoming a part of our team of tutors.
Ellah Hughes
Ellah came to study at Blackburne House in 2019 after initially struggling in her previous college due to her mental health. She completed the Level 2 Diploma in Healthcare and set her sights on university. To make this dream a reality, Ellah enrolled on the Access to Healthcare programme, where she excelled academically. Ellah's confidence grew during her time at Blackburne House both in and out of the classroom. Ellah pushed herself to try new things with her newfound confidence, and found new passions for poetry and mixed martial arts. Her achievements at Blackburne House helped her to gain a place to study Mental Health Nursing at university, where she is now thriving in her learning.
Cheila Aline Lemonges Guerra
Cheila is a Brazilian who moved to Liverpool from Italy with her husband and children in 2019. She graduated in Metallurgy in Brazil. She has a passion for cake design and event decoration, and when she arrived in Liverpool she started her small baking business serving the Brazilian community. After starting the ESOL course at Blackburne House, she was able to expand her business and bake for the general public as her tutors helped her to improve her communication skills and settle into her new life in the UK. With her new found confidence and English language skills, she hopes to further expand her business so more customers can enjoy her beautiful cakes.