Hi everyone! A lot has been happening recently, hence my absence from my blog, so I wanted to share a quick update about my funding for college, the kind donations I have received and recent course change to keep you up-to-speed!
First of all I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who donated through my GoFundMe page; I received an amazing £810 altogether and to have received such a large amount of money in such a short space of time means the world to me. I also received £1,130 in physical donations from family members and service users at Henshaws - bringing my final total to £1,940! I'm so incredibly grateful for everyone's generosity which will certainly help my Guide Dog and I feel much more comfortable financially, in terms of accommodation and travel, during my first year at the Leeds College of Art. Being in a different city, away from home, is not going to be cheap (travel expenses and accommodation alone will come to over £4,000!) and you have made such a difference to how this next chapter in my life is going to start out.
As you may recall, I wanted to start college education right at the beginning, starting with a Diploma in Visual Arts (or Level 2) course before moving onto my A Level, Degree and even Masters in the future. I received a phone call recently from my tutor that he would prefer me to undertake the A Level course, rather than the Level 2, as I already have an A* in my GCSE's and he felt the course wouldn't be of much benefit to me. Despite not being my first choice, I agreed to the offer to join the A Level / Level 3 course and have responded to my Letter of Acceptance!
I'm now in the process of applying for a 24+ Advanced Learning Loan for the course, as it costs £3,980 for the year, which is of course more expensive than the Level 2 course I originally wanted to undertake.
With accepting the A Level offer I now have a Visual Studies summer project to complete over the next few weeks before enrolling on September 2nd and starting the course proper on September 10th. The aim of the project is to visit an exhibition and research with unorthodox materials and text to explore new methods and understanding of form, shape, mass and surface area. I am basing my project on the WithDraw exhibition, by reportage illustrator George Butler, at the Imperial War Museum North (blog post coming soon!).
Thanks to my kind donations I have booked my accommodation through a website called homestay.com, where I will be staying with a "host family" until Christmas. This option is much more affordable to me, at £24 a night, and I will be staying with John, Thery and their two little girls until the festive period. Tami and I will be staying in the furnished basement room for 3 nights a week and I very much look forward to meeting my second family and staying with them over the next few months!
I'm really excited for September and this new chapter in my life, and again want to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated to me! I shall keep you all updated on my enrolment day and first few weeks of college when the time comes!