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GCSE Student Stories: Riyaz Patel | GCSE Maths and English Review

Find out how Riyaz has taken the next step towards his dream of becoming a teacher by studying GCSE Maths and GCSE English with ICS Learn.


22nd August, results day. The day I have been waiting for. I couldn’t sleep the night before and since 3:30am I was completely awake. 


I was really nervous, and my anxiety reached a peak when I got the envelope in my hands. But all that ended with calmness and happiness in an instant when I read the grades on the piece of paper that came out from the envelope. 


About 8 months ago I didn’t even dream that at the age of 42 I would be sitting GCSE exams. Starting my shift as a taxi driver, the first passenger I picked up was a secondary school teacher. 

During the conversation, when he found out that I had overseas degree in Chemistry, he encouraged me to pursue a teaching career and invited me to Train-to-teach event which was on the following week. 


I attended the event and started English and Maths courses for GCSE with ICS Learn the following day (as these are a requirement for teacher training courses). 


Doing two jobs, being a father of three and having a very busy life, I still managed to get a few minutes here and there to study.


Choosing ICS Learn turned out to be the best decision as the course structure and support was perfect for me. The teachers were really helpful, and their advice and guidance made all the difference when it came to the exam.


After achieving grade 7 in both Maths and English, my path to becoming a teacher has just got a lot easier now. 

Thank you ICS Learn.


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