Leaving college with a job offer in her pocket feels like a pretty great place to be for Redcar and Cleveland College student, Ruby.

The 18-year-old from Brotton has secured a position as a primary school teaching assistant after completing the T Level in Early Years and Education.

Among those picking up her results this week, she said: “I have always wanted to work in teaching. The T Level offered the chance to learn and expand my knowledge but also came with a large placement.”

Helping to settle any nerves, she explained: “My placement was actually at the primary school I went to when I was little, St Joseph’s Primary School. It meant I already knew some of the staff and I settled right in.”

Assisting in the classroom and regularly working with the children in small groups, all helped put what she was learning at college into practice.

Ruby said, it is that experience and knowledge that has given her a head start when it came to finding work.

Now looking forward to starting work as a one-to-one teaching assistant at Badger Hill Primary Academy in Brotton, she gets to work while also progressing on to higher education, studying the Foundation Degree in Early Years at Redcar and Cleveland College, in partnership with Teesside University.

Looking back at the last two years, she said: “It is so rewarding working with the children and watching them grow and create friendships. Being with them for two years I have seen them go from not being able to write their name to writing in full sentences.”

Well done, Ruby!