Lewis joined MAP College in Abingdon as a No Limits student in February 2022. His time in mainstream education hadn’t been easy and he was looking for a fresh start.
At No Limits™ Post-16 Education, each learner is treated as an individual and has their own bespoke curriculum based on their interests and the key skills they need to learn. A lot of learning takes place out in the community, rather than in a formal academic setting.
MAP College is a part of the much larger Abingdon College campus.
Finding his community
Once Lewis joined us and realised that education isn’t about fitting square pegs into round holes, he began to relax. He realised he was not alone and had found his community: a peer group without judgement.
Branching out
After finding his feet, Lewis volunteered to be the student Health & Safety Rep for MAP College, which involved checking a number of key factors around the premises and reporting anything that seems wrong. He really enjoyed carrying out weekly vehicle checks on No Limits vehicles in the grounds. Carrying out these checks is an essential part of keeping everyone safe, and also provided an additional learning experience. He also enjoyed showing other students how these checks can be completed, so enabled other students to check the safety of vehicles too.
Community Garden
This year, Lewis expanded his interests into horticulture and joined an improvement project in a local community garden. He has greatly enjoyed working alongside professionals and creating an impact for his local community by improving an area that can be used by everyone.
It’s great to see what Lewis has done since joining MAP College, both within his immediate environment and in the wider College community.
Lewis is a fun, caring individual who always loves to chat and tries to make people laugh with his jokes and ‘pranks’. Although there were some barriers to his progression, Lewis always tries to be helpful in any way he can, and once he became the student health and safety representative, it was clear that he craved the kind of empowerment that this role gave to him.
Freddie Elliott, Community Teaching Facilitator.
