Ava is made of right stuff for GCSE success
A STUDENT proved she’s made of the right material after overcoming adversity to score a GCSE in textiles.
Ava Reid, 16, a pupil at All Hallows Catholic College, on Brooklands Avenue, has been diagnosed with Down’s syndrome and autistic spectrum disorder.
But she and her parents Heidi and Tim were celebrating after she achieved a level three pass in textiles.
Heidi said: “When Ava first started at All Hallows’ her anxiety was so bad that she used to sit on the floor and refuse to even enter some of the classrooms.’
“But from day one the staff at the school had a ‘can-do’ attitude with Ava, teaching her alongside her non-disabled peers with differentiated work and fantastic support from teaching assistants.
“They helped her to go away on school residentials, encouraged her to join the school choir, and amazed us by encouraging her to take on the challenge of performing a solo version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the school talent show.
“That’s something we thought she’d never be able to overcome her anxiety to do.”
Although students with Down’s syndrome are increasingly achieving GCSE passes in the UK, according to the Downs Syndrome Association ‘most will struggle with an academic curriculum in key stage four’.
But other benefits to attending secondary school are that children with Down’s syndrome will develop more independence.
While Ava’s GCSE result and her entry Level passes in maths and English have delighted her friends and family, the highlight of Ava’s time at the school was attending the All Hallows’ year 11 prom.
She said: “It was the best day of my life.”