Where you come from has no bearing on where you might end up, if you’re willing to put the work in, but don’t take it from us…

Check out some of the incredible case studies below from real, local young people who have gone on to achieve amazing things!

“Some of the compounds I’ve worked on have even saved lives”

Having spent his childhood dreaming of becoming an actor, a career in pharmaceutical science developing life-saving compounds is about as far from what 29-year old, Jamie Marshall, thought he would end up doing as you can get!

Displaying a natural talent for Science and Art, Blyth-born Jamie always enjoyed school. Despite initially aspiring to a life of ‘treading the boards’, Jamie now works as a Senior Solid State Scientist at Sterling Pharma Solutions in Cramlington – crediting his A level Chemistry teachers for his eventual career choice.

“Solid state chemistry involves the close examination of a material with X-rays, heat and humidity to understand its solid form properties to ensure that the active component of a medicine or compound is the most suitable and stable version for manufacture and administration,” Jamie said.

“It’s an aspect of chemistry that I was not fully aware of until after graduating from University, though it is one that I have fell in love with!

“Pharmaceutical research and development puts me at the final stage of new compounds, understanding their properties and developing processes for manufacture. Every project is unique; every compound is different; every process can offer new challenges.

“I have worked on multiple compounds, developing a range of crystallisations to improve their recovery, purge of impurities and solid form control. Some of the compounds I’ve worked on have even saved lives – an aspect of job satisfaction that I never anticipated, but that gives me an immense feeling of pride, knowing that my work had an impact on those in need.”

Click to read Jamie’s case study in full.

To find out more about the Single and Double Award Science and A level Art and Design qualifications available at Duke’s Sixth Form, visit www.ncea.org.uk/raising-aspirations/routes-to-success

“In the legal sector, there’s always potential for someone rich and famous to walk through the door!”

Lawyer, business owner, Associate Lecturer… Shaun Alexander’s list of job titles reads like a CV of someone twice his age, but at just 28 years old, Shaun is living proof that age really is just a number.

Shaun can’t recall exactly when he decided he wanted to work in the legal sector, but he thinks it might have been around the time he was sitting his GCSEs at Norham High School in North Shields and saw that Law was an A level option in Sixth Form.

Choosing to leave school to attend a local Sixth Form College, then known as Tyne Metropolitan Sixth Form Academy, Shaun decided to pursue Law at A Level, alongside History and English Literature – an avenue which eventually led him to Northumbria University where he went on to study an integrated Master’s Degree in Law (M Law) at Northumbria University, graduating in 2014.

After graduation, Shaun worked for various different law firms across the North East, specialising in various different areas of law, one which even saw him handle the sale of a footballer’s house!

In 2018 however, Shaun decided to start his own firm, Alexander Legal Services, and it’s since then that his career has really taken off. Specialising in Wills and Estate Planning, Shaun helps clients to plan for later life (and death) by putting their affairs in place.

“Wills allow clients to record their wishes for what happens to their property and money after they pass away. Other planning can include making a Lasting Power of Attorney, which allows people to appoint someone to make decisions for them when they’re too frail or unable to make decisions for themselves,” Shaun explained.

“While the subject of death and incapacity is in no way a nice thing to discuss or consider, the practical, day-to-day aspect of my job is rewarding, because the services I carry out bring reassurance to clients who are perhaps worried about the future and what might happen when they’re no longer here.

“Setting up my own firm was definitely the best thing I could have done. My career had progressed quite slowly up to that point, but since then, I’ve won an award for the ‘Best Professional Estate Planning Service’ in the North East and also began an Associate Lecturer role at Northumbria University, so I hope to have many more highlights in the future!”

Click to read Shaun’s case study in full.

To find out more about A levels at Duke’s Sixth Form, visit www.ncea.org.uk/raising-aspirations/routes-to-success