Jack
A Year 9 student, Jack joined LVS Hassocks in Year 7. “What I like most about LVS Hassocks is that everyone here is autistic. I feel like that we are all on the same page. It’s easy to make friends here and meet people with the same interests – I like playing video games and I really enjoy the ITC club.”
Jack is currently participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards’ Bronze scheme, which requires students to take part in voluntary work. Jack, being a cat lover, chose a local cattery for his work experience, where he is asked to help tidy up and prepare the animals’ beds. “There is even a cat there called Jack,” he says.
“It’s easy to make friends here and meet people with the same interests.”
Like all of the students at the school, Jack loves his visits to the onsite café and shop, where pupils also get given the chance to gain work experience. It is also where parents and others can come along and see the children in action. Students get the opportunity to do everything from operating the till and serving customers, restocking the shelves, etc, to keeping the place clean and tidy.
“The café is really good and I like the fact that it keeps adding different things for us to try. We have to pay for anything we buy, but workers in the café get to choose one item for free, as a thank you for their hard work.”
LVS Hassocks doesn’t give pupils homework, so they begin their GCSE coursework earlier than in a mainstream school, to give them the time to learn the topics and prepare for their exams. The school does pre-GCSE mock exams, as well as mocks in the run-up to the exam period, so they get used to taking tests and completing the exams. Jack is fully onboard with his GCSE preparations, and is positive about the future: “I’m aiming for a grade 5 in art,” he says.