International student's progress rewarded at awards ceremony

THE exceptional progress of an international student studying at Stratford-upon-Avon College has been recognised at an annual awards ceremony.

Alexandrina Podosu, who lives in Stratford, is originally from Romania and came to the UK with her three sons in July 2016 to join her husband.

She was presented with the International and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Student of the Year award during the Student Awards Ceremony which took place on Thursday, 4th May.

Alexandrina had a strong grasp of written English before moving to the UK, using it as part of her job running an accountancy firm. However, after relocating, she was initially frustrated at the problems she had communicating verbally.

She said: “I used to communicate with my clients by email and letter in English so when I came to the UK I thought speaking to everyone would be no problem but when I actually tried to speak English with someone it was so difficult and I got really frustrated with myself.”

Initially enrolling on the ESOL Entry Level 2 class last September, in a very short time Alexandrina progressed to the Entry 3 qualification and is currently preparing to sit her final writing exam.

She has a clear career path planned, with an aim to set up a new business as an accountant in the area.

“It’s something huge for me to come here to the UK, start a new course and now to receive this. When I received the letter telling me I was nominated I was so excited. I made sure I spoke to the other mums when waiting to pick my sons up from school. Now I have some English friends and I speak with them all the time,” Alexandrina said.