When I first walked through the doors of City Gateway, I had only one goal in my mind and that was to get my maths qualification. Little did I know that this place had so much more to offer than just maths and English tutoring. As I delved deeper in to their course, I discovered a wealth of support and opportunities that could help me kickstart my career. I learnt that they offer support to get into apprenticeships and job placements. I was convinced that this is the place that can help me start my career on the right foot.

Freddie is 19 years old and lives in East London. His mum is mixed race and dad is half Jewish. At school, Freddie faced a lot of challenges and that had a negative effect on his emotional and mental health and well-being. He struggled to achieve his maths and English qualifications and this was setting him back from getting into a career of his choice. Freddie joined our Route to Employment course to achieve his maths and progress into a job opportunity in HR.

“At City Gateway, I met some amazing people. The teachers are great, and Nazmin really helped me out with my learning. During my maths test, I was very nervous, but it really helped that I could take my test in a small room with a very small group of people who I already know. It took a lot of pressure off me, and I could complete without stressing out.”

City Gateway offers a lot of clubs. Now that I am done with my maths, I am very excited to go to Job Club to get my CV ready and apply for jobs. The online Learner Hub helped me in a big way because new vacancies are added every day. I am also part of the Learner Voice Forum, and this is great because we get to talk about a variety of topics.

City Gateway takes us to a lot of trips to visit employers. There was a trip when I got to meet someone in the HR department and they give me lots of tips and ideas. It was great as I am looking for an HR apprenticeship and would like to pursue my career in that space.

If you are 16 to 18yrs and looking for a study programme that offers more than just academic support, City Gateway is the perfect place for you to turn your aspirations into reality.

Click here to apply today.