A determined Loughborough College student is celebrating after nailing her GCSEs on the same day as her 16-year-old daughter.
Sharnell Smith, 44, from Nottingham, juggled a job with raising her children and studying to earn grade 4s in GCSE English and Maths.
At the same time, her daughter Chanel gained five GCSEs at her school in Nottingham and will now go onto Sixth Form to study A levels.
For Sharnell, it means she qualifies for a Level 3 Access to Higher Education programme so she can pursue her ambition of becoming an accountant.
“I’m super excited and so happy,” said Sharnell, who returned to education in 2020 after working as a professional chef. “Even if results didn’t go my way today, I would have come back and done resits and continue on my journey. I’ve come too far to stop now.
“I’m so proud of Chanel. We’ve supported each other while we’ve been studying and I’ve helped her with some of her work as well.”
It is the second time Sharnell has studied at Loughborough College after falling in love with it back in 2015 when she completed a Level 3 course in catering.
After working as a professional chef for a number of years after graduating, and supporting her two older daughters through university, the industry took a hit during the pandemic and Sharnell decided she needed more stability in her career.
She said: “I fell in love with Loughborough College when I did my Level 3 so I was really happy to come back to education in 2020 to do my functional skills in maths and English.”
Last year, she passed her functional skills exams but failed her English GCSE and the resit. But it only made her more determined to pass than ever before.
“You should never give up,” she said. “There are always options and paths open when you fail. You’ve just got to keep on going.
“When I decided to go back into the classroom, I only ever wanted to come back to Loughborough. It’s a great place to learn.
“The teachers are fantastic and patient and take time to sit with you and explain any problem with you. They find the time to help you understand what is needed.
“That is why I’m going to stick with Loughborough College no matter what. I hope to pass my access course and do my degree here as well.”