DCG Success Stories

Former Derby College Group student Flo Pennington is heading to Derby University this month to begin a degree in Media and Marketing. 

Flo, 19, is excited about the future and can see herself possibly working as a business analyst or social media analyst after she’s graduated.  

And she’s thrilled to have come such a long way in the past couple of years. For Flo attaining a distinction at college then progressing to university once seemed like unreachable goals. 

At school she largely gave up on the education system, often failing to attend lessons and ultimately performing badly in her GCSEs. 

Flo said: “I had a hard time at school. I was diagnosed with a mental health condition when I was young and really struggled.  

“After school I enrolled at Derby College to do a level 2 Health and Social Care course so I had some qualifications. I wanted to be able to move on to a course that was on a par with A-levels.  

“I chose media after going along to Joseph Wright Centre and talking to Daniel, Head of Media. I’ve always been good at English and luckily that helped me get the last spot on the level 3 Digital Media diploma course. 

“College was still challenging for me at times, but my teachers were great. They genuinely believed in me. 

“For example, if I was having a hard day and couldn’t go into college, they would let me do my work from home and send me the resources so I wouldn’t fall behind. This ultimately made me go in more.” 

After gradually settling back into learning during her first year on the media course, Flo came into her own in year 2 as her confidence grew. She discovered a love of learning and formed lasting friendships. 

She added: “I realised I was good at my course. I liked the writing, planning and research side and I really loved the freedom we were given to explore the creative process on our assignments. 

“I’d say to school leavers who’ve had a bad experience of school, please don’t let that put you off coming to college; it’s not the same and you’ll get plenty of support from the staff.  

“Don’t give up. Everyone deserves another chance. My mum was over the moon when I finished the second year with a distinction.”