Pinderfields Hospital

 My name is Helena and I started attending this school towards the end of year   9. I came here because of my confidence issues within my anxiety which   affected my ability to attend a mainstream school. Due to previous bad   experiences of education in conjunction with family issues, I found it difficult   to socialise and I withdrew myself from life.  

 When I came to PRU, this was the fresh start I needed in order to begin   improving my mental health. At the beginning I remember feeling frustrated   and embarrassed in myself that I wasn’t able to live a fulfilling life. I worried a   lot that I didn’t have the capacity to have a career in the future and I was   uncertain how my life would look like. I was soon welcomed by the teachers and   staff and in time I viewed PRU as a safe space where I could be my individual   self.

 In my lessons I often found the content of work challenging because of my   difficulty with concentrating. This led me to become uninterested in core   subjects and I essentially gave up on thinking I could even achieve anything. It   was the teachers here who were able to recognise what I was capable of- when   I couldn’t see it myself. Even with my disinterest the teachers always remained   patient and never gave up on my dismissal. The teachers here are fantastic at   making each lesson engaging and person centred, in this I became more open to   learning. Often in these lessons I was particularly quiet but when it came to   art, I was able to express myself in a way that was loud. At PRU this was the   first time I found myself around a truly positive network.

 Weekly I had sessions with Alice   to improve my personal development. When I   started these Alice helped me to set small goals. These small goals eventually   progressed to bigger goals and to this day I still use this technique to   continuously challenge my mindset. Being around other pupils in similar   circumstances allowed us to relate to each other and in time I developed a long-   lasting friendship with a fellow peer.

 At the end of my time at PRU I was hesitant to move on to the next stage, but   PRU made this transition gradual, easing me into the world outside of school.  

 Leaving with satisfactory GCSE’s was the steppingstone to my successful years   in further education. From PRU I then went to Barnsley college where I studied   Art and Design Level 2 and then I moved to Leeds Art’s University to complete   my Level 3. I am now Studying Fine Art at Liverpool John Moore’s University   with a part time job as a care assistant where I have moved out of home and   gained valuable life skills. In my art practice I challenge my anxiety by using   pattern as a therapeutic tool, turning negative experiences into pieces I am   proud of. Currently, I am exploring future career options where I am   interested in perusing being an art teacher. I feel more motivated than ever to   build the life I desire, and I know I will do this each step at a time!  

I want to say a huge thank you to ALL the staff at PRU for continuously supporting me through this long journey of life.  

I came here because I was struggling in school and because of my mental health in general. I wasn’t doing anything or leaving the house.

I started to attend here and at first I was quiet and kept to myself. But through the staff’s help and the support of the other students, I became more confident and started to express myself. I found the confidence to become the person I really wanted to be and transitioned from Phoebe to Alex.

Now I’m doing what I want to do for my dream job which is working with animals.

Thank you staff and students.

Hi, I'm Arnold, I came to the Pinderfields Hospital PRU because of an array of mental issues that crippled my ability to live a life, which was due to bullying, family issues and undiagnosed ASD at the time I was accepted back in 2016.

The great teachers (who sometimes I had many disagreements with) helped me through the difficult time I had, and helped me finish my GCSEs with above passing grades in many subjects, giving me a great start in college, even if during my studies with the PRU I received some very difficult news that almost set me back an entire year of work, but the great staff helped me through it, put me in touch with a great support network, I'd especially like to thank Rachel from SEAT, Mrs Mumby, Saskia the best art teacher anywhere in the whole country and Mr Brooks, who all gave constant support, even though I'm sure I sometimes was a "difficult" student.

After leaving PRU I went on to study at Wakefield college and thanks to the great work at PRU their support team was able to help me throughout all my studies there, with Andrew Hobson making sure every bit of support I could have wad given and Charlie Gilkeson being a great mentor during my engineering advanced manufacturing Btec with a mechanical advanced diploma, where I excelled at health and safety law, business and project and team management. I further went on to lead Wakefield students Union for 18 months after a year representing the Castleford campus during my studies and learning very basic BSL. 

Now my studies at Wakefield have ended and due to covid I'm not completely sure what to do, thorough Wakefield Live well program I gained a certificate in mental health management, and then after that, went on to join the Conservative Party, and since joining I've met, Bim Afolami, Jacob Reece-mogg, David Davis, Michael Gove, Dehenna Sheridan Davison, Mark Eastwood and my favourite news presenter Michelle Dewberry... I'm hoping to get into politics and helped with the Wakefield By-election canvassing and campaigning and going to many a pub afterwards with other Young Conservatives and activists.

Who knows what the world holds next for me, and I'm very thankful for the opportunity Pinderfields PRU gave me to start over my education and improve my mental health.

Thankyou for reading and if you're a student at the PRU, take advantage of the opportunity you are given.