I was in U4M when my mum came and sat on my bed on Saturday morning to tell me that my Dad had lost his job and I wouldn’t be going back to LEH after the holidays. My mum still tells me it was one of the hardest things she has ever had to do, and she still gets teary talking about it now.  

What I didn’t know was behind the scenes Miss Candy had been supporting my parents with dealing with the fall-out from my dad being made redundant – she made a difficult situation a little less painful for them.  Two years later, I was dead-set on going back to LEH for Sixth Form.  It was going to be a struggle for my parents to afford it, but they were incredibly supportive (looking back on it, I now know quite how much they would have had to sacrifice to make this happen) and backed me all the way.   

I was incredibly fortunate that LEH offered me both a scholarship and also a bursary for the Sixth Form. It meant my mum and dad could put all their energy into supporting both me and my twin brother through Sixth Form without financial worries. It was a true game-changer for my family, and I feel very fortunate to have benefitted from the Bursary scheme.