Karla's Inspiring Journey at Kingsley: Overcoming Challenges & Sharing Wisdom

Welcome to our latest video featuring Karla, a standout student at Kingsley, as she reflects on her time at the school and shares her personal experiences. Karla has faced challenges with grace and resilience, and we're excited to showcase her journey, her insightful blog post on mental health, and a heartfelt poem she wrote during a difficult time.

My Academic Journey

As I am nearing the end of my time at Kingsley, I am reflecting on my academic journey from the girl who no one believed in and who’s parents were told they wouldn’t be able to do GCSEs to a student who has become obsessed with learning and has achieved high grades proving all the people who didn’t believe in me wrong.

When I first started school, I was not in the right environment. I was placed into a special school and the people who I lived with did not know how to handle me. I was often left in a corner by the TV and was not pushed to do anything by myself. I was put into the category of the stereotypical girl with a disability. Luckily, when I was adopted at 6 years old, I was placed with my family who believed in me and were not afraid to push me. They did not listen to the people who told them to just place me into a special school and spent the time finding a school that was right for me. They always told me that there is no such word as can’t and although I initially did not like being pushed, I am so grateful for them not giving up on me as I wouldn’t be where I am now. 

I do not remember a lot of my time at primary school. The first few years were spent catching up with the rest of my peers. One of my biggest memories was developing my love for reading. I spent a lot of time in the school library devouring any Jacqueline Wilson book I could find. This love of reading has become a massive part of my personality and is something I will always have. Then one day during Key Stage 2, something clicked inside of my head and my love and ability to gain knowledge and learning started growing rapidly. By the end of primary school, I had come a long away from the girl I was when I started and had a group of friends and had become focused on academic achievement.

My time at secondary school was not the easiest, although I loved it there and there were many great memories, I struggled with academic pressures throughout my GCSEs. My first three years at secondary school were pretty smooth, I had a good relationship with some of the staff and made some new friends that I am still close to. Halfway through Year 9, we were hit with the Covid 19 pandemic leading to the closing of schools. As someone who loved school, this was a difficult adjustment however, I soon grew comfortable with the new routine. I loved working at my own pace, and I could focus on learning topics that weren’t taught at school. 

Coming back to school after Covid and GCSEs were a difficult time for me. As I started achieving higher grades, I developed severe anxiety as I felt growing internal pressure to remain at the top and meet people’s expectations, going to school became increasingly difficult. However, there were many people who helped me redevelop my confidence from professional help to my family, school staff and a new group of friends. Although, this is something that I am still working on, since joining Kingsley I have been a lot more comfortable and have found people that have helped me grow and for those people I am extremely grateful.

Kingsley was not my first choice for sixth form however, I am so glad that things turned out the way they did. I won’t deny that when I first joined the school, I struggled to fit in. Being a wheelchair user and coming from an outside school meant that I had to work harder to prove myself and show that I am just the same as everyone else. However, although there will always be room to improve, the school has been great at trying to adapt and a massive thank you to the maintenance staff who have worked hard to improve access. The staff have always been accepting and understanding and over the past few months I have found a group of friends who appreciate people for who they are.

The jump from GCSEs to A Levels is bigger than people tell you. Throughout my two years here, particularly in Year 12, I often solely focused on the academic side of school to keep on top of my workload and keep achieving high grades. However, this often meant that I neglected the other parts of school life as I linked my worth and identity to my grades and strived to be perfect. That is why I am so grateful to the people at Kingsley especially my two amazing TAs and friends that made sure that when I became wrapped up in my own world that I remained part of school life and pulled me away from becoming too consumed by my own fears. 

My two years at Kingsley have been some of the best school years of my life. Particularly in this last year, I have developed a sense of belonging within this school that I didn’t think possible, I have gained a varied amount of knowledge about many different topics and have further developed my love for subjects especially English Literature. I went from someone who when she first started kept to herself to someone who found people that accepted her and went to social events such as prom which wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been supported and encouraged by members of the school that made me feel comfortable to go out of my comfort zone. I am going to miss Kingsley and everyone here that were a large part of my life within Sixth Form.

I am now looking to attend university to study English Literature. Looking back on my life I want to let people know that you can achieve anything if you find the right people who always see the best in you.

Karla's Poem

5

When my anxiety takes control of me 
You tell me to name five things I can see.

My mind is frozen with fear,
As I try to fight the tears.
My mind is racing,
My heart is thumping
Whilst deep down inside it feels like I’m breaking.

4

Then I tell you four things I can hear,
You say that things are not as horrible as they appear.
Meanwhile I’m busy fighting the sickness,
That is my biggest weakness. 

3

When it is still too much,
I list three things I can touch.
I don’t want to admit things are beginning to worsen,
As I don’t want to be any more of a burden.

I say I’m fine,
But I am really feeling stressed all the time.
I fight to get through
The never ending things I have to do.

2

Then it is 2 things I can feel,
I am reassured that my thoughts don’t need to be concealed. 
I fight to breathe 
Making sure that I achieve 

I work to maintain good grades,
Whilst all my fears dig into me sharp as blades.

1

One thing I can smell,
Is the last thing I have to tell.
I finally start to gain a sense of calm,
Remembering that I am safe from harm.

Whilst deep down inside I just hope that one day,
These feelings will stay away.