John Swanston
John didn’t get on well at school; he was withdrawn and achieved very little in his formal exams. It wasn’t until he left school, and a formal test revealed his dyslexia, that his learning journey truly began.
Aged 43 unemployed and with confidence at an all-time low, John was referred to the North Tyneside Council Adult Learning Alliance to improve his English skills. Within a year he achieved his Entry Level 3, Level 1 and 2 in Literacy. As a result, his confidence and self-esteem grew immensely and he felt encouraged to continue his learning. John has since achieved an A-Level equivalent, Level 3 certificate in Learning Support, and has completed Level 1 and Level 2 City & Guilds in Numeracy.
Feeling more confident than ever due to his accomplishments, John made the decision to give something back to his community, and trained as a volunteer to support learners in English, life skills and ICT classes. John gets great satisfaction from helping others in a similar position to himself and he is currently training to be a teacher. In the next academic year he looks forward to starting a two year course to gain a Diploma in the Lifelong Learning Sector.
John said: “I first arrived at the Adult Learning Alliance as a learner. I was a reluctant student because after years of feeling stupid and unable to progress, I didn’t know if I could learn! Now I am a volunteer and well on my way to becoming a teacher.”