Spotlight On: Patrick

This month's Spotlight On: feature is on Patrick.

7 GCSEs, 5 months of exams - and every answer completed using his eyes.

Patrick is 16-years-old and he has cerebral palsy. Patrick uses eye-gaze technology to communicate and to control a computer. Patrick has used that same technology to complete all seven of his GCSEs - beginning his exams in February and finally finishing in June.

Eye-gaze technology allowed Patrick to select, write and communicate his answers, but it was by no means straightforward. Unlike his fellow students using pen and paper, using eye-gaze technology takes considerably longer. In maths, Patrick was unable to simply write out his workings, meaning calculations sometimes had to be worked through in his head before he could communicate where each number needed to go. It demanded an enormous amount of concentration, patience and determination - including spending up to two hours on a single 12-mark question before returning to do it all again the next day.

All of that work paid off last week when results day came around. Patrick passed his GCSEs and achieved the grades he needed to continue into sixth form, where he plans to study French, Media and Business.

When he finished his final exam back in June, Patrick emerged to find his friends and teachers waiting for him with a guard of honour - a moment celebrating months of quiet determination and work behind the scenes.

Patrick has big plans for what comes next too. Inspired in part by the late Rob Burrow, who used eye-gaze technology to communicate, Patrick hopes for a career in the media and wants to travel the world reporting on sport and the accessibility of sporting venues. He has described his ultimate ambition as becoming “the next Clare Balding on wheels.”

And if that wasn’t enough, he has already started his own small business sourcing second-hand cars for people - although, as Patrick jokes, he is still waiting for someone to ask him to find them a Ferrari!

Patrick’s story is an important reminder of what can be achieved when young people have access to the right technology and support - and why education and assessment need to work for different ways of communicating, learning and demonstrating knowledge.

A huge congratulations to Patrick on his results and everything that went into achieving them!

~~~~

Proud of something you have done? Know someone whose achievement deserves to be celebrated? Tell us about it HERE.

Achievements come in all shapes and sizes. It could be progress in education or work, a creative project, sporting success, advocacy, volunteering, trying something new, reaching a personal goal or overcoming a challenge. We want to shine a light on the moments that matter, whether they are big, bold and public or quietly significant.

You can submit yourself or nominate someone aged 35 or under. Each month, we will choose one person to feature across Cerebral Palsy Teens UK’s social media and website, and give them the chance to share their achievement - no matter how big or small.