20th June 2018
22 year old Adam Dower from Hornchurch is studying for an Extended Diploma in Sport at Barking & Dagenham College and loves participating in sport, as well as studying it. So far this year, sporty Adam has competed in five 10K runs, a half marathon and will be taking part in the London Triathlon on July 5th.
The 54 mile London to Brighton Bike Ride was Adam’s first-ever cycling event, Adam says: “It was fun but difficult, especially the last 13 miles as you enter Brighton, because it gets very hilly; it was particularly hard when we went across Ditchling Beacon, but we kept going.
“My cycling partner’s bike got damaged twice and we had to stop to fix it, but after fixing it the second time we carried on for the rest of the race without stopping at all.”
Adam has been at the College for four years, working his way up through the levels of sports qualifications, beginning at level one when he was 18 years old. He is so keen on exercise that he has walked to college every single day since starting four years ago.
At school Adam excelled in sport and was on many teams including running, football and swimming. However, as he is learning impaired, he was only put forward for two GCSEs. He found out about Barking & Dagenham College because his school regularly took groups of their students on trips to the College and it was on the trips that he was inspired to study sport. Adam hasn’t looked back since, he says: “The atmosphere and the teachers are great. I have so much fun every day and the connection with my classmates is excellent.”
Adam isn’t just going places with his sporting endeavours; he’s also achieving things at college and is hoping to secure a triple merit grade in his Extended Diploma.
He’s also managed to secure a place at London Southbank University to study sport in September. On leaving Barking & Dagenham College after four years, Adam says: “I’m a little upset, it’s like leaving your family to go and live with another family, but I am excited to see what the next year will bring.”
Head of Sport at the College Errol Parker says: “Adam is an outstanding learner, with excellent employability qualities, including an excellent attitude and commitment towards everything he does, both at college and within sport.”
