Taking the foundation course route
Students should be told more about the different paths to a career in chemistry
If I spoke to myself from 10 years ago, she wouldn’t believe that I’d accomplished as much as I have. Despite practically failing my A-level exams, I’m here today studying for a PhD in organic chemistry.
My A-level results were a real blow. They made me believe that a career in chemistry was not possible for me. Throughout school and sixth form I was always told that if I wanted to be successful, particularly in such a competitive scientific field, I had to achieve high grades at GCSE, ace my A-levels and get into a top-tier university. So much pressure was put on every exam or piece of coursework and it was drilled into me that you had to do well academically to have any chance of competing with every other student fighting for the same place. This pressure was part of the reason why my grades weren’t as high as I’d been predicted.