A STOURPORT man who recently achieved a first class degree from his university is giving advice to school leavers who did not achieve top grades.

Liam Barnett, 22, claims he was an underachiever at school and received “mediocre" GCSEs.

The former Stourport High School student has since achieved a degree in computing from the University of Worcester and has obtained a job at a large IT services company.

Mr Barnett said: “I have never been blessed academically and I always struggled throughout school, but since leaving I worked hard to achieve my goals after never being top of the class or being considered academic in any way.

“I did not want my average grades to prevent me pursuing a career in technology.

“After receiving my grades for the first few assignments at college, I realised the extra effort was paying off and that it was possible to do well, despite not being academic.

“I believe this spurred me on throughout the rest of the course and on into university.”

Mr Barnett took a BTEC course at the Worcester College of Technology instead of sitting “traditional” A levels and said students should not consider BTECs as inferior to A levels.

“BTECs are purely coursework based and a lot more hands on,” he said.

“In many subjects this provides experience you would not obtain from following the four-subject A level route.

“If you're not very academic BTECs can be a gateway to success and, if you already know the career you want to pursue, it makes a nice option compared to choosing four subjects that may not be related to your career path.”

He believes that students who did not achieve top grades at GCSE should plan long term about what their interests are and aim for a job in that area.

“Pupils should look at the requirements for jobs in your chosen field and begin working to meet those requirements,” he said.

“Whether that is going to college and university, or maybe if you haven't quite achieved the grades to get into college, approach a company for work experience whilst you work toward your retakes.

“To achieve your goals you have to persevere, study hard and if you're not in education, find relevant work experience, network with professionals within your chosen career area and learn all you can about the companies you want to work for.”