Studying Health & Social Care at USP

Firstly, a bit about me...

My name is Cassie, I am 16 years old, my dream job is to be a Counsellor (so I decided to study Health & Social Care, but there's more about that below!) and in my spare time I love to be creative and do Arts & Crafts.

So why a Counsellor? This route appealed to me as I would like to help as many people as I can throughout my life, and has been a dream job of mine for many years. I chose to study Health & Social Care as I thought that this course would be very interesting and I could learn more about the different roles of people in the health sector. So far, I am enjoying the course and my teachers tell me I am doing quite well at the moment (which is good to hear!) While I don’t find anything too hard to complete, it does have it’s challenges which take me out of my comfort zone every now and again, which I believe is a great thing and will hopefully prepare me for my next steps.

My mum has always said to me that if we stop learning we stop growing as people and I think this is very true.

USP College is a good place to study, the teachers are very nice, and they do everything that they can to help me. If I don’t understand some of the work, they will sit down with me during class and explain it to me in a different way that I find easier to understand. The teachers at USP College are amazing role models and have helped me to become the person that I am today, especially my tutor, she goes above and beyond in lessons and makes them entertaining and memorable. For example, she often reads different case studies in different voices - which makes it easier to remember for assignments! College is what I expected as it is relaxed yet structured, in a positive way and the teachers are there to help and support you the best they can.

Not only do you have support from the teacher but if you need extra help you can have a Learning Support Assistant (LSA), they might even be in the classroom with you to help explain the work that is being set.

The course itself is very enjoyable. I am learning about many more areas within the Health and Social Care sector, and there are a lot more than you might think! Jobs that I could go into after taking this course include being a Care Worker, Counsellor, Health Psychologist, Social Worker and Nurse or Mid-wife. Most of my coursework is in essay format, but I don’t find this a problem. I actually quite like writing the essays at it helps me to learn more about the unit and the topic that I am studying! The workload can sometimes seem heavy, but with planning and organisation it is easy to manage within the deadline that is set.

Throughout my time at College so far I have made friends, which I am so grateful to have, they always make me laugh and help me when I am unsure during class. Luckily, my friends are all doing the same course as me, so we can help each other the best that we can.

The advice that I would give to anyone who is thinking of joining the College would be that you will love the ethos that the College and the teachers offer and I think you would be hard pushed to find a better college than USP. The teachers are amazing and are there to help and support you in any way that you can.

USP College promotes a relaxed environment that helps you to gain your independence – meanwhile you are surrounded by friendly and supportive staff that makes it a fun place to study. You will definitely fall in love with learning!

If you would like to study Health and Social Care at USP College, go to https://www.uspcollege.ac.uk/courses-apprenticeships/our-courses/our-professional-courses-btecs/health-social-care-level-3/