In this story we hear from Edd Eyad who attended New College Worcester (NCW) from 2012 to 2015. Eddy talked to us about what life was like before NCW, the lasting impact that NCW had on his life trajectory, and his future ambitions after settling into his career.
Life in secondary school a ‘battle’
Eddy grew up in Birmingham, attending primary then secondary school close to his family home, but says there was a stark contrast in the support available when he transitioned from one school to the next.
“I attended a mainstream primary school with a dedicated visual impairment resource base, allowing me to benefit from both a typical school experience and the specialist care that I needed,” says Eddy.
Secondary school was a very different experience for Eddy though, and he experienced a significant disadvantage compared to his sighted peers. “Secondary school was a real battle,” says Eddy. “I was put in the lowest sets and was told there was no point doing GCSEs, and given no real adjustments by the school. I just found it all really disheartening. I spent my days exhausted just trying to access the work, with no energy left for friends, hobbies, or anything extracurricular.
“I wasn’t even given a laptop to access work. Instead, I had piles of large printouts spread across my desk. I’d end up hunched over them, straining to read text. It was exhausting.”
Going to NCW opens up possibilities for Eddy
After hearing about us, Eddy was offered a taster of NCW, staying on-site here for a couple of nights. He admits that although it felt like a great opportunity, the prospect of moving away from home at the age of 16 was a daunting one.
“Despite my reservations, the deciding factor was the thought of making the step up from GCSEs to A-level in a mainstream education setting, especially after the experience I’d had,” says Eddy.
After his family petitioned the local council, Eddy received the news that he’d be funded to attend NCW, narrowly avoiding a tribunal by just a couple of weeks. Eddy finally began life as an NCW student in the autumn of 2012, and it wasn’t long before he started to feel at home.
“My education no longer became a battle!” says Eddy. “I could finally focus on doing the work rather than struggling to just access it. At New College, everything was in the format I needed, and the school helped me figure out what worked best for me. We experimented with different approaches until I found the shortcuts and programs I liked, which really improved my academic performance.”
Eddy also discovered a love for athletics, which, until that point, he never believed he could do. This passion remained with Eddy after leaving the school, later joining the university athletics club and running the London Marathon.
He also discovered a love for music. “Nearly everyone did something musical because the department was so strong and accessible, which just rubbed off on me,” he says. “I learnt to play piano and I even started to release my own music. I now average around a million monthly streams on Spotify.”
Career pathway becomes clear too
Eddy says the confidence and independent living skills he gained at NCW made his transition to university and later employment so much easier. He also really valued the work experience programme available for sixth form students.
With the school’s support, Eddy secured a placement at ArrowXL, a logistics company, where he worked every Wednesday afternoon in his final year. “During my time at ArrowXL, I helped with things like financial strategy and personnel strategy. The placement gave me important insights into how a business operates, and because it was a long-term placement, I was able to take this into interviews after NCW.”
Eddy went on to achieve a place at the University of Birmingham, where he studied business management, and in his third year, he personally secured a role as an analyst in the Lloyds Banking Group. “My placement really helped to open up doors for me. And it meant that, after university, I got approached by a recruiter on LinkedIn for the company I’m working for now, a global consulting firm called 4most,” he adds.
The power of self-determination
Eddy claims that the self-determination and confidence he gained at NCW also made a powerful difference to securing his first full-time role after university.
“I gained so much confidence at NCW,” says Eddy. “It gave me the ability to present myself to others in a way I wanted, and to ask for what I needed. This continued into the workplace when I started my first job at 4most.
“I think it’s unrealistic to expect every workplace to immediately understand how vision impaired employees need to work and access things, especially if they’re a small business. However, thanks to the confidence I gained at NCW, I learnt how to communicate my needs in the workplace, and to advocate for myself.”
Eddy speaks proudly about the life he has created for himself since leaving NCW, from a job he really enjoys to becoming a homeowner, and he is very clear about his next life goals too.
“I’m grateful that my professional journey, creative endeavours, and social life have been so fulfilling. Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue growing in my career, embracing new and meaningful challenges, and striving to make a lasting, positive impact on those around me.”
