Students' Stories

It is hard being away from my family. There is an impact that being in care can have in terms of self-confidence. You can only be strong for so long. It has not always been easy for me to prioritise education. Sometimes, I have had too much going on in my life. 

But education has been my saviour. It brings order amongst the chaos, gives structure, and is something I have a choice about. 

I am on the RCS Transitions initiative. It provides care-experienced students and students from postcodes within multiple deprivation areas with up to 150 hours of fully funded training in their chosen art form, tailored support, and mentoring per year. 

Since joining Transitions, I have had a mentor and a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) Tutor. My PLP tutor is an expert in the same art form I study- acting. We work together to evaluate and reflect on the particular courses I am doing and what I learn from them. My mentor helps me to look at the bigger picture, where I am going and what steps I can take to get there. 

I find it difficult to ask for help. I do not want to be pitied or patronised or for any extra help to impact the support other people receive. I also do not want to appear stupid or to become another care-experienced statistic. 

But my RCS mentor has been fantastic. They have really good background knowledge of the care system and are close to Who Cares? Scotland. It is easy for me to turn around and explain myself without having to explain things from first principles. My mentor prioritises welfare first of all, and it is really helpful to have a third-person perspective from someone outside my personal life. 

As a consequence of building that mentoring relationship, I am more likely to ask for help at RCS. 

I feel strongly that young people must have control of the support they are given. Talk to us and learn about what we need rather than deciding what’s best for us. People must recognise how difficult it can be to learn in a care setting. Why should the average young person who stays with their parents have a better educational experience than those of us who don’t?

Find out more about Transitions. 

Jethro has been involved with the Transitions at RCS for two years and is now looking forward to applying to an Undergraduate programme. 

Tina is a care-experienced student in an Undergraduate programme at RCS.