Peter and David are top of the class!
A new world of learning has been opened up to two Nuneaton men after a Warwickshire County Council course helped them earn their first ever qualification.
Peter Lea, aged 57, and David Burrell, aged 29, are both champing at the bit to learn new things after sitting the OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts) National Test and successfully achieving Level 1 in Literacy.
The two, who both have a history of mental illness, have never managed to pass a nationally-recognised qualification.
Now they have been given the self-belief that they can achieve things that others take for granted, they are moving onto the next stage.
Tutor Renia Buc, who works for the County Council’s Nuneaton and Bedworth Adult and Community Learning Team, said: “When they realised that they had passed they were both overcome. Throughout their lives Peter and David have struggled to cope with the challenges thrown at them, but achieving this qualification has given them an appetite to learn. This has given them extra confidence which has helped improve their quality of life.”
Peter and David are members of the Resource Café, a separate service within The New Horizons Day Centre based at 97 Leicester Road, Bedworth.
The Centre is run by Friendship Housing and Care and provides an open-access service for people recovering from mental illness.
The aims of the Café are to help people with their recovery and live more fulfilling and independent lives.
The Café works closely with other Agencies to promote education and employment, and provides support and information on a wide range of services in the community.
Renia said “Now that Peter and David have tasted success, they have decided to further their newly acquired qualification by progressing to Literacy level 2, which is equivalent to a GCSE pass at Grade C. Good luck to them both”.