A mature student who left formal education at the age of 10 and had no qualifications is heading for university with the aim of becoming a teacher.<\/p>\n
The remarkable transformation in Aiden Bank-Connell’s life was achieved with the help of Coleg Harlech, the college that specialises in giving people a second chance at education.<\/p>\n
Aiden’s spectacular success was underlined by a powerful and thoughtful essay that was of such high quality that it won him a top award.<\/p>\n
Aiden, 32,from Bethesda, has just completed the one-year residential social science course at Coleg Harlech.<\/p>\n
At the college\u2019s annual awards day ceremony, he was presented with\u00a0 the coveted Thomas Jones Award for being the best student in his group.<\/p>\n
The essay which prompted the glittering prize was on the theme The Value of Life, which received an almost unprecedented mark of 85 per cent.<\/p>\n
Aiden\u2019s proud tutors say this is exceptionally high and has rarely been achieved on the course.<\/p>\n
The essay dealt with the emotive yet currently hotly\u00a0 topical issue of euthanasia \u2013 the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit.<\/p>\n
Aiden, who is originally from Liverpool and has lived in North Wales for the past 16 years, said: \u201cI left school at the age of 10 to be educated at home by my parents, therefore I never got any qualifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have a very easy adolescence and moved from job to job when it was time for me to start work, such as spending some time on the staff of a holiday camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was actually unemployed for a lot of the time, so when I was offered a place on the social sciences course at Coleg Harlech I saw it as a great opportunity for me to prepare for a proper career, hopefully in teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI now have a place at Edinburgh University to study for an MA in philosophy and that will equip me for the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lean towards teaching as a career, or possibly something in the civil service \u2013 I don\u2019t quite know what it will be yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I do know is that Coleg Harlech is a lovely learning environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tutors on the social sciences course have been excellent and have helped me to hone up on the skills I already have.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey certainly put the pressure on during the course but it was never going to be a walk in the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say the past year has been a very worthwhile experience for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can certainly recommend it to other people, especially those who want to move forward from the situation they are currently in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe essay I wrote for my course project was based on a discussion around the value of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy conclusion was that while the value of life is important an over-reliance on it as a statement of fact stops people leading the life they want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aiden\u2019s tutor on the social sciences course, Sian Court, said: \u201cHe has consistently provided some high quality work demonstrating a skill in writing analytically.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis essay for the module on medical ethics was of a particularly high standard and demonstrated a high level of knowledge and an ability to apply comprehension of theory, analyse and evaluate research.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis work received a mark of 85 per cent, which for an essay is exceptionally high and is rarely achieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, in my four or five years of teaching at Coleg Harlech I have only given one such mark before, about two years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cAiden is now going to university where we have faith he will continue to provide work of a high quality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coleg Harlech Principal Trefor F\u020fn Owen was delighted the college had been able to help Aiden achieve his educational ambitions.<\/p>\n
He said: “Aiden’s fantastic success is a shining example of what can be achieved and we wish him all the very\u00a0 best for the future.”<\/p>\n
Coleg Harlech WEA are currently accepting applications for September. For more <\/strong>information go to the website www.harlech.ac.uk<\/a>\u00a0or ring Coleg Harlech on 01766 781900.<\/strong><\/p>\n