Rachel Morgan...
For Rachael Morgan School was not a pleasant experience. 'I absolutely hated it,' she says, 'there were too many children in the class and I was labeled the naughty one. I was eventually diagnosed with severe dyslexia but I still didn't like school because of my difficulties. I made it to college but found, once again that I couldn't cope and soon left. A couple of years later I had my daughter, we were living in a flat but I wouldn't go out and just stayed in watching TV.'

Things changed for Rachael when she attended a school fete and was invited to join a Family Learning class. At first reluctant, she was persuaded to join by her father, and Karen Workman from Communities First.

Karen says 'I know that her school and college experiences were difficult and that she was unable to read or recognize all of the letters of the alphabet. We started with the same phonics programme that her daughter was using and progressed to adult readers...

...She has now passed her C&G Numeracy Entry 3 Qualification. Rachael inspires those around her with sheer determination. Her dad was so proud to see this change in her attitude and loved to see her gain confidence and qualifications before he sadly passed away.'

Rachael's confidence has grown enough for her to speak at a recent Family and Intergenerational learning Conference. 'I ended up speaking to nearly 50 delegates about my experiences, and I've been asked to do it again in March' says Rachael, 'If you told me ten years ago I would have been doing this, I'd have told you where to go! I am proud of what I have achieved, but I know I still have a long way to go. I like learning now, I am a totally different person to the one I was in school.'

You can watch Rachel's video here >>

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