"Take every opportunity you are given, even if you aren’t certain, always have a go as that’s the best way to learn and build yourself up academically and socially!"

Name: Tom Darlington

Time at Congleton High School: 2014 to 2021

Current Role: Reading Geography BSc at The University of Aberystwyth.

What are Your Memories of CHS? 

I have fond memories of History and Politics classes, especially in A level, with all the discussion and debates. The hordes of different flags we brought into Mr Fryer's History classes, and the debates in Politics between the five of us in the class and Mr Franklin - these are still some of my fondest memories. The debates still continue whenever I meet up with my old classmates, especially those who have taken Politics further (not naming any school governors in particular)!

Which Subjects did you Study at GCSE and A Level?

In Sixth Form I chose A Levels in History, Politics, and Geography. I pursued these three as they were all connected with each other in a certain way, with Tim Marshall's “Prisoners of Geography” cementing this in my mind and guiding my choices. Geography was my strongest subject at GCSE, achieving a 7, however History throughout GCSE and into the first year of A Levels was by far my favourite as I had always been interested in reading non-fiction and seeing how events through history have connected with one another and repeated their trends throughout time. This interest led me to choose Politics, which I had always imagined as history in the making, and so was an obvious third choice. It also helped that many of my classmates shared these three subjects with me, especially between History and Politics - it was difficult to tell which class you were in sometimes!

I mainly chose my A-levels and GCSEs out of enjoyment and if I was interested in the subject. However I did choose subjects that I  perceived as employable and transferable in to industry.

Route after CHS:

After Sixth Form I started reading Geography (BSc) at the University of Aberystwyth, after achieving BCB in my A Levels, which was much higher than the predicted CCC despite the rigours of online learning through Covid 19!  My choice of Geography stemmed from a passion for the subject that I developed mainly in my second year of Sixth Form, helped by the encouragement of Mrs Wilson-Jones and Mr Hulson for me to read further papers and examples, and their continued support for me to improve my essay writing ability. Also, the realisation that Geography, especially Human Geography, was both the combination of History, Politics and, to an extent, the physical landscape.

At the end of my first year, I converted my course to include a year in industry to gain experience in the field before my final year. This is still one of the best decisions I have made and am currently working as an Environmental Consultant in Gawsworth near Macclesfield, developing my academic skills to become transferable to industry and to improve my personal development. Outside of academics, at CHS I was involved within the Student Leadership Team in Sixth Form, developing my teamwork and leadership abilities, with Food Bank Fridays being a strong memory of my involvement. After CHS I continued to push myself in leadership and teamwork, in university societies as race captain for the University sailing team, and my involvement in the University Royal Naval Unit but mostly with my involvement at Aberystwyth’s RNLI station.

In this role I have pushed myself to become an active team player and have been involved in multi-agency search and rescue operations in challenging conditions and trained to become fully passed out as of last month. This accomplishment achieved through core skills I gained at CHS, both in the classroom with Mr Franklin and Mr Hickton encouraging us to debate helping to communicate effectively in a situation where it’s imperative to be assertive but also to listen, the role of the Student Leadership Team to improve my ability to work effectively as a team, and also the role played by Mr Hulson and Mrs Wilson-Jones to encourage me to push myself with my A Levels, all helped me to achieve this goal and completing forty nine individual assessments to pass out.

What Advice Would you Give to Students Considering Studying at University?

My advice to anyone looking at universities is to look at the course and the opportunities they offer, such as placements or time overseas, especially if you are unsure on a career after - it can be a try before you buy! Also look at the location and extracurricular activities of the universities, as you may be living there for three to four years and if you're happy and doing what you love socially as well as academically, you will thrive and enjoy your studies. For me this was a significant factor in choosing Aberystwyth!

What Advice Would you Give to Your Younger Self?

Take every opportunity you are given, even if you aren’t certain, always have a go as that’s the best way to learn and build yourself up academically and socially! (Also not to debate politics with Mr Franklin if you haven’t done enough research!)