Triple Starred Distinction Opens Up Opportunities for Scott

The wait is over and the results are in.

Level 3 BTEC students from across Abingdon & Witney College have been finding out their final grades over the past few days, achieving fantastic results that will see them go on to their chosen universities, start careers, apply for apprenticeships and many other inspiring post-college routes.

One such student is Scott Ballard, from Oxford. He has been studying on the Level 3 Public Services course at the College’s Abingdon campus, a subject that challenges learners and helps them to build up employability skills – teamwork, resilience, confidence, communication and physical fitness.

The Public Services courses are out-going, with students experiencing a variety of expeditions and training days in the UK and abroad.

Many students progress into rewarding careers into the uniformed services, such as the police force or armed services, rather than necessarily applying for university.

Scott, however, is doing things differently. Buoyed by his brilliant triple starred distinction, he is now considering his university and high-level apprenticeship options – specifically in the areas of Law or Criminology.

“I think it’s more a mixture of motivation and fascination,” Scott explains. “Rather than dealing with crime hands-on, I moved more to the side of studying the crime and asking the questions; What was the reason for it? Why did it happen?”

“Criminology draws on a range of perspectives, like sociology, psychology and also law, and that’s what fascinates me about that department.”

When speaking about the course, the College and its tutors, Scott has fond memories of his experience.

“The hard work has paid off! I am very proud of myself to keep the same standard of work through all my 3 years at college, always having the mindset of not handing in any work until I know it’s to the best ability I can do and pushing myself every time to get better and better.”

“I feel my tutors in college are one of the main reasons for my success and work ability. Their positivity and encouragement helped me every week and even though I was producing high-level work, I didn’t realise because I was just enjoying the lessons.

“At the moment I’m just keeping my options open, keeping every opportunity in mind and not being hasty with my decisions as I want to pick the best path for me to excel later on in life.”