Determined to Succeed
Hannah Sykes is a shining example to others! The 19 year old has just received A Level results which make her and her teachers at QE extremely proud - results that were achieved against the odds and which will take her onto Northumbria University to study Pharmaceutical Chemistry.
Eight years ago Hannah dislocated her hip and for most of her secondary education she was in considerable pain and got around as best she could on crutches. Her education was severely disrupted and she missed a lot of time at school. In May 2007, when she was just about to take her GCSEs, her surgeon decided to operate and replace her hip. This was a decision that was not taken lightly as her surgeon had never replaced a hip on anyone as young as Hannah and it was deemed an extremely risky procedure.
The operation was a success and, remarkably, Hannah was awarded GCSEs that enabled her to progress to QE in September 2007 – again on crutches after her operation. However, her rehabilitation was not easy and learning to walk unaided resulted in knee problems and another operation at Christmas 2007. This again disrupted her progress but Hannah soldiered on.
At the end of her first year at College, Hannah had some success in her AS Levels but only attained a grade E in her Chemistry – the subject she had come to love and the one she needed to go onto university to follow her chosen career of working in a lab developing new drugs.
Hannah explains:
"When I moved to QE I had the basic GCSE requirements but, in reality, I was such a long way behind and my first year results were disappointing, especially my Chemistry which I was determined to improve upon. I therefore continued with some of my A Levels into A2 and the second year but started my Chemistry again from scratch. Alan Scaplehorn has been my Chemistry teacher for the three years I’ve been at QE and he has been an inspiration and a massive support to me. He made me believe in myself, helped me all he could and added to my love of Chemistry by making the subject fun! He's just the perfect teacher and I owe him loads – my career wouldn’t be where it is today without him."
Alan Scaplehorn, Director of Science at QE comments:
"Hannah has done so well to overcome her problems to achieve such success. Her cheerful perseverance and exemplary attitude to her College work are an example to all students. Hannah was mature enough to recognise when she needed some help and put in extra hours to revise and check answers with her teachers. Her own medical problems have impacted on her so much that her ambition is to help others by working in an environment that develops new treatments and drugs. Best wishes to Hannah in the future – I am sure she will meet all the targets she sets for herself."
Hannah now has full A Levels in Psychology, Media: Communication & Production - both gained in 2009 - and Biology, Applied Science and Chemistry which she found out about today.
August 19, 2010