Former Kingston College Level 3 Public/Protective Services student, Archie Coles Withey, has achieved his ambition of becoming a firefighter and will soon be joining the London Fire Brigade.
Archie’s tutor, Ciaran Fox, recalls his time with us: “Archie studied with us from September 2019 to June 2021 achieving Distinction grades in all his course units (the equivalent of 3 As at A Level). Archie was a very good student and was always enthusiastic about a career in the Uniformed Services and was determined to succeed in joining the London Fire Brigade.”
Commenting on his course when he left us in June last year, Archie said: "My favourite part of the Public/Protective Services course are the practicals - like expeditions to Bushy Park to practice our map reading skills and learning about all the different public services and how they work. I’ve had a lot of different opportunities, like being able to go to the Houses of Parliament. We would have visited Kingston Crown Court but unfortunately due to COVID we couldn’t go in and watch the court case, so we watched a court case online instead. I also spent a week’s work experience at Croydon Fire Station learning about how the firefighters live, work and help everyone within the community. Also being able to talk to the Area Commander for Kingston Fire Brigade, talking to army personnel and police officers about their roles face to face was really cool!
"College life is very different to school life, but in a good way. You’re able to express yourself as an adult and aren’t treated like a kid. Also college is a lot more fun than school, the start times and ending times of college are also a bonus.
"All my tutors were really friendly and made us settle in really well. You can go to them with any problems you may have and they also support you if you need further additional help."
