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"The teachers were supportive always and they gave you positive feed back. They never said you cannot do it and that was the big thing which got me through."
A spur of the moment decision to return to school as a mature-age student has paid off for Andrew Chadwick of Glen Waverley.
Andrew was one of two Box Hill Institute students to receive the 2002 Premier's VCE Awards.
The awards are presented to those students who achieve excellence in their respective subjects. Andrew will receive his for his work in Contemporary Society.
"I thought I would like to go back and finish my VCE and hopefully pass that and do well enough to qualify for University," he said.
Andrew's VCE score was 84.90 and he is now studying for his Bachelor of Social Work at RMIT.
Andrew said he had a few apprehensions about returning to study. "It had been a while and I was worried I would be the only mature-age student there," he said.
Andrew said the startling difference he had noticed on his return to the classroom was the teaching style. "I was initially taught by rote, whereas this time around you contributed and you voiced an opinion in class," he said. "The teaching staff treated everyone as an adult and therefore mature, so they did not talk down to you."
While motivation and organisation were important during the year, Andrew thought his biggest challenge was finding the confidence that he "could do this and succeed at it".
"The most positive thing was the feedback from my teachers," he said. "The teachers were supportive always and they gave you positive feed back. They never said you cannot do it and that was the big thing which got me through."
Andrew urged students thinking of leaving school to "never give up on education."
"You may decide you will come back some time in the future, so give it your best shot.
18 March 2003
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