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GCSE Success for Alexandra
Posted: 13th August 2021When Alexandra Lapadatu arrived in England at the age of 11, she was put into a class with four-year-olds because of the language barrier to her learning.
Today, she collected grade 9 and grade 8 in her English GCSEs – grades only a small proportion of students achieve each year. She also picked up one other grade 9, two other grade 8, three grade 7 and a Level 2 Distinction.
When she joined the school in Year 10, she was achieving grade 3 in her least favourite subject of geography, but is now heading off to college to study it at A-level, along with economics, business and a BTEC in law.
Alexandra, originally from Romania, said: “Geography is the subject I hated the most. But, when I moved to Forest Hall, I fell in love with the way my teacher taught me. Because of her, I love the subject now.
“When I arrived in England, my English was not that good. It was difficult and I used to get bad results. When I was getting grade 3 and 4, I felt really demotivated and like I did not want to study anymore. But, I realised that was not what I wanted in life; to give up on things when they did not go my way.
“From then on, I took everything seriously and my goal was to achieve grade 7 and up. I started reading until things made sense. I had to make sacrifices, of course, like not going out every day.
“At Forest Hall, the teachers gave me motivational talks. My English teacher, in particular, told me not to get upset and that they knew I could do better. It was nice to know my teachers had faith in me.
“The environment at Forest Hall and the people in my class made all the difference. At a previous school I attended, I was being disturbed all the time; I was not able to do everything to my best ability. But, the way teachers at Forest Hall managed the class really helped.
“I can’t even describe in words how I feel about my results today. I started crying when I opened them. It has all been worth it.
“I never would have imagined achieving these results when I came to England in Year 6 and was put into a Reception class. In Year 7 and 8, I was in bottom sets.
“Finding a strategy for studying that works for you is the best way.”