Background

As a teenager I had lived in every state of Australia, other than WA. I was constantly moving around with my dad's job and by the time we had settled down and I had made friends, we were on the road again. So as a result, I

had hardly any friends and I found it difficult to keep up with the different teaching methods. Finally at 16 we landed in the Northern Territory and I found a school where I actually made some friends. I was excelling in all subjects, I even won some photography competitions and was picked from my school to represent the state in drama/acting & threatre. My phone always rang, my phone book was full, I was never picked on and life was pretty sweet... Well so I thought. My friends started dabbing in and out of drug using, smoking cigarettes, binge drinking, sneaking out at night to go to parties, shop lifting, grafitti, and it was no longer "cool" to be a straight A student so needed to keep up my "school reputation".

As a result, I started to smoke Marijuana, got addicted to cigarettes (I was smoking 16's which is ridiculous) I snuck out to meet boys and go to parties, turned up to my job with hang overs. At first it was fun but then it became a habit and my life was slipping away from me. I dropped out of school, worked as a check out chick and was turning in to a habitual drug user.

I chased my boyfriend at the time to Adelaide, flipped burgers for a living to feed my habit. My boyfriend turned abusive, especially when he drank and soon he started to smack me around, call me names and I lost my self esteem. I began to put on weight, I couldn't look people in the eye, I walked with my eyes and head towards the foot path and would cry if someone said boo to me. But I'll leave this for another thread when I gain the courage to talk about it some more.

Flying back home

Eventually I gained the courage to ask for help (things weren't good at home either) but decided to go back home anyway. My parents had moved to QLD by now and so I had to make the decision to start all over again (which I was used to). At least I had a roof over my head and food in my stomach even if I was greeted by my mother whose mental illness made it a nightmare to live with her and my verbally abusive father who expected too much from me, alongside my two brothers who could "never do anything wrong" (yet again I'll leave this for another thread when I gain the courage to talk about it some more).

I went back to school to finish year 12 but it wasn't the same. I couldn't fit in and make friends no matter how hard I tried. I had lost all of my confidence and had to be on the other side of the fence where being "uncool" meant living the rest of the year in hell. This included being smacked in the stomach with a cricket bat and threatened with a pocket knife. I wrote the most awesome biography on my mother and my teacher scribbled all over it, when it was my final draft and then failed me because I couldn't print another copy of it. Drama classes weren't the same, people mocked my acting abilities because I wasn't being funny enough or playing up for the teacher. My math teacher ignored me and half of my lesson was me sitting with my hand up asking for help. My other teachers made it seem like it was a chore if I needed a hand with something. I hated the environment!

Adult Tertiary Preparation

I surfed the web and I came across a TAFE course called "Adult Tertiary Preparation" (ATP) which was year 11 & 12 full time in a 12 month course. This was the best decision I ever made at that point in my life. I turned from a habitual drug user back in to a smart, young lady, supported by great peers and exceptionally, caring and informative teachers.

Why ATP?

* You get treated like an adult.

Yes, go out on smoke breaks if you like, no detention if you're running late, etc interact with other mature students from age 18-100+. There were a few 17 year olds and one 16 year old who got in with special exceptions, people in their 20's, 30's, a few in their 40's and even a 65 year old who just wanted the satisfaction of finishing year 12! Year 10 is usually a requirement. Life skills are taken in to consideration.

* Close knit environment.

Usually, there are no more than about 30 students in your class and by the second semester, my class size reduced by half! Instead of going to a high school where you normally have years 8-12 and a few hundred to a few thousand students, you work with just 30 or less students and you get to really know them. They excel in different areas that you can ask their help for,  they support you and you create good friendships.

* Complete 2 years in 12 months.

Self explanatory really... Finish year 11 and 12 in just 12 months full-time.

* Negotiation

Parent with kids at home? Frequently need hospital visits? Pregnant and need time off? Easy! Negotiate this with your class teachers and you won't have any assignment/exam penalties! They'll hook you up with any missed work sheets etc Even if you are weighed down with unforeseen circumstances, if you negotiate, you won't get penalized. We had mothers who negotiated having their sick kids come to class with them so they didn't miss anything! Need to have your phone on in case daycare rings? No worries!

* Teachers care and understand

I was absolutely amazed by the amount of care the ATP teachers had for their pupils. This is just an example of how caring my teachers were... I was going through family problems and one of my teachers gave me her mobile number to call her and to talk. I also had her email on stand-by and she helped me reduce my anxiety problems. I don't know about anyone else but I really struggle in mathematics so my math teacher arranged to stay behind on Wednesdays and personally tutor me for free, she then drove me to my workplace so I could get to work on time! My computing teacher allowed me to have 5 weeks off his class because I could show him I knew how to do the basics of what he was teaching. I was also able to email ANY of my teachers and they would show me what I had to change in my assignments to turn a credit in to an honours.

* Highly recognised by universities

ATP doesn't beat around the bush. It teaches you the skills you need for university and no less. If you pass all subjects (just pass, no credit or honours) you will recieve an average OP of 10, give or take. From first hand experience, I can assure you this isn't hard to do!! It is in their best interest to teach as many students as they can how to maintain honours.

It will cost you around $90 per module (you need to choose 5 subjects) or around $40 per module if you have a current concession card. You should check with your closest TAFE institute. You will need to buy text books seperately, however, if you look in advance on the student notice boards you can pick up the very same text books, second hand for half the price and sometimes even cheaper! You may also find them on Ebay. If you choose to do this fulltime, it will take you 12 months to complete the 5 subjects or you can also choose to do it part-time (where you can choose from day or evening classes) from 2-5 years to complete. There are usually two starting dates, being February or in July. Please note you can also negotiate payment plans with the administration team :-)

You can register anytime of the year by calling this number 1300 657 613 or going to your closest TAFE institute.