Bilal’s BMet Experience
Meet Bilal “a motivated person, whose achievements are proving some people wrong!”
Bilal came to Matthew Boulton College with the sole intention of turning his life around, after experiencing some previous personal challenges.
Thankfully his time at college gave him the new start he needed. His Further Education journey was extremely positive and transformational…enabling him to obtain GCSE Maths and a Level 3 extended diploma in ICT, followed by a place at Birmingham City University to study Cyber Security!
Here’s more of what Bilal wants to share about his rewarding journey…
What was your ultimate goal coming to the college?
“I’m so pleased that I finally passed my GCSE Maths and Level 3 ICT Extended Diploma. Despite challenges and struggles in life, many of which shared growing up with my single mother, I am where I am today due to hard work, staying focused and being motivated.
“I failed the majority of my GCSE’S in Year 11, which was very upsetting and frustrating for my family and I. Plus, we knew that Maths and English are core subjects needed to progress onto a good course, go to university and to get a good job -so, achieving these was a real goal.
“I came to Matthew Boulton College for a fresh start and to pursue my aspirations in life. I slowly adapted to the college by gradually getting used to the surroundings, my class schedules and making new friends in my first year of my Level 2 ICT Diploma.”
What was your experience with the teaching staff?
“It was a real pleasure for me to meet experienced, talented, supportive teachers and to learn vital skills from them. They certainly pushed me to my limits and encouraged me to do better.
“After completing my Level 2 Diploma in ICT, I was thrilled to hear one of my teachers say: ‘Well done Bilal quality work, you just produced university standard work!’ and my assignment was also used as an example to the whole class.
“I really surprised my teachers by producing top quality course work, after not previously doing so. I was elated to progress onto the Level 3 Extended Diploma course.”
Tell us about any specific challenges that you overcame during your studies…
“Whilst I was at college, COVID-19 arrived in the UK. Studying online was a struggle and not the same. However, it was nearly the end of the year, so I kept my head down, was fully self-motivated and focused. In my 1st year of Level 3, I achieved 8/8 Distinctions.
“The following year, I achieved 10 Distinctions to make it a total 18/18 – making my overall achieved grade D*D*D*. I achieved this and made this possible by not wasting time and using my time wisely and efficiently, as I had lots of assignments and work to be done under pressure.
“I re-sat my GCSE Maths exam for the third time, and achieved a Grade 4, which was such a huge relief! This news of me passing maths made me, my mother, and my family (especially my uncle) over the moon!
Now, at last I am in the final year of my degree at the university of my choice, which means that my and my family’s dream has come true! I just believed in myself, even if some didn’t. The hours of work I put in certainly payed off.
I did better than what I expected, as I didn’t know I would end up getting top grades and going to university, as at one stage I was thinking that I wouldn’t succeed at college. Happy to say though that I did it! My strong mindset of staying motivated and proving people wrong, always steered me in the right direction after my three years at college and that’s why I have succeeded the way I have …and now I don’t regret any bit of this rollercoaster!
Life is all about learning from failures and succeeding then afterwards.
Bring on the rest of my life!
I am going to leave you with a few words of advice STAY FOCUSED, STAY MOTIVATED, and STAY WORKING HARD!”
Bilal’s future certainly looks bright and as well as pursuing a career linked to Cyber Security, he has a strong flair for business – for example, he has experience developing his own online clothing sites.