Chloe Jones

Early Childhood Studies – BA (Hons)

When Chloe’s sporting career ended abruptly, she tried out multiple career options and realised working with children was her passion. At BCU, Chloe has been able to get real-world experience working with young people, volunteer in Bali and discover her future career.

"As a teenager, I thought I had my life all figured out. I was achieving great grades in college, competing for team GB in Judo and I had plans to become a personal trainer in the RAF. The RAF had agreed to sponsor me as an athlete, so I moved to Birmingham to start full-time training.

A sudden injury put a stop to me competing, which meant I sadly lost funding from the RAF. With no funding available, Judo and personal training were no longer an option for me. I’d planned out my whole life and career around sport and I didn’t know where to turn or what else to do.

I had worked hard and achieved fantastic grades in my BTEC Sport course, but now I had no idea what to do with it. I found myself working within the events industry, then moved on to work in recruitment, but nothing felt like the right fit. I thought back to why I wanted to be a personal trainer and realised that I wanted to do it because I loved working with people and giving them the tools they needed to live a healthy, happy life. The work I had done in events and recruitment didn’t fulfil me and I knew I needed to make a drastic change.

I discovered Early Childhood Studies and saw that it involved learning about young people’s needs and how we can give children the best possible start in life. BCU’s Early Childhood Studies course outshone other universities that were offering the course. The modules sounded really interesting to me and I knew the opportunities available would allow me to succeed on the course.

When I came to BCU, it had been 10 years since I was last in education. I surprised myself at how quickly and easily I adapted to university life and study. The lecturers on my course are so informative, supportive, and willing to offer advice about any aspect of the degree or my future career.

Without a doubt, the most invaluable part of my degree has been the opportunity to do three work placements. These have provided me with practical knowledge and experience working with children and made me a more confident person.

One of my placements was in Bali through the HELS Go Abroad scheme. I spent the summer there teaching English to children aged 4-12. This experience was not only a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it confirmed that teaching was the career for me. The practical experience of teaching, lesson planning and classroom management was a great insight into teaching.

I’ve already started the process of gaining a teacher training position. The Careers+ team have been a huge help in guiding me through the application and I’m excited to start a career that was meant for me, even if it took me a while to get here.

Coming to BCU has helped me realise that it’s not my sporting abilities that will make me a success, it’s my passion for working with and helping others.

To me, ‘I am BCU’ means being able to tackle those challenges that once felt too overwhelming to overcome."