My Experience Of Volunteering At Busbridge Junior School

During my time at Sixth Form College I have been volunteering at Busbridge Junior School, helping the lower ability children, many with learning difficulties, improve their reading. The satisfaction I gained from seeing not only their reading ability but also their confidence in themselves improve is what has driven me to want to work with children with problems in the future. When working with the children, I was fascinated by their different behaviours and how much they changed and developed over the course of just one year. The experiences one gains as a child are fundamental in their development. The children I worked with were at a key stage in their life where their characters and who they are as a person are greatly influenced by their environment and the experiences they have at this age.

I have recently started volunteering at the Meath Centre in Godalming, working with people who are suffering from Epilepsy. Some of them have Cryptogenic Epilepsy so also have other learning difficulties alongside their Epilepsy. The experiences I encountered from my volunteering furthered my interest in Epilepsy and other conditions affecting the brain. This made me keen to do more research into conditions that affect the brain and eager to find out what actually causes these abnormalities. I have, therefore, chosen to do an Extended Project Qualification with the title ‘Is Schizophrenia Better Understood From a Biological or Psychological Perspective?’ I have found researching and writing a dissertation on this fascinating and have embraced carrying out independent research into case studies and experiments that have been carried out in relation to schizophrenia. I also feel that doing this Extended Project Qualification has helped prepare me for the type of work I will be doing at University level as well as improving my independent learning