"Once you sign up, you never leave"
"I was really enthusiastic until I reached secondary school, when I realised that I wasn't actually learning anything new. I became very frustrated and started getting into all sorts of mayhem. But Stepladder brought about an instant change in me: I loved the activities and the people we met and that enthusiasm followed me into school. So did Alison – at the Saturday seminars you get targets, or set them yourself, and then she'll come into your school and talk to you and your teacher to find out how you’re getting on."
"At the end, you do end up getting the grades you want at GCSE but it's during sixth form that the habits and skills you've learned really pay dividends. I used the essay writing skills that I learned at Stepladder all the way through to my third year at university."
"What's more, once you sign up, you never leave. Take me, for instance: I decided not to go to university and instead I went to work in a housing admin office. After a couple of months, I knew I'd made a huge mistake and so I phoned Alison and begged her for help. And she did, bless her, and I got a place through clearing. Without her, I wouldn't have gone to university and my life would have been completely different."
Oliver Dunn went on to receive a first class degree from Greenwich University. He is now a teacher in north London and works in his spare time as a volunteer at Stepladder.
