RNIB College Loughborough learner Bilal Hussain is preparing to leave the College in September after 3 years, in order to start his University degree studying Social Care.

Originally from London, Bilal came to the RNIB College in 2009 to complete his education after returning from South Africa. Bilal is registered blind and so he began by undertaking a one year, In-house programme at the College in order to develop his independent living skills and to complete his GCSE's. After achieving his GCSEs Bilal decided to progress on to a mainstream programme at the local Loughborough College. He chose to study a BTEC National Extended Diploma in IT. A course that he could access in a mainstream setting whilst continuing to receive the specialist support from the RNIB College.

After successfully completing his diploma, Bilal is now in the same position as many other students, waiting to hear the outcome of his UCAS applications. Although he has gained qualifications in IT, Bilal has decided to study for a degree in Social Care. He says, "I enjoyed my IT course but I always knew that I didn't want to sit behind a desk for the rest of my career, I want to get out there and help people."

Applying to 5 Universities in total, Bilal has already received acceptance letters from two of his top choices. Bilal states, "The RNIB College has helped me a huge amount over my time here, especially when it came to applying to Universities. There's a lot of paper work and forms to fill in and the RNIB College staff based at Loughborough College and my Tutor have helped me no end with my personal statement and proof reading my applications"

Bilal will be moving into University Halls in September and says he is looking forward to meeting lots of new people and having his friends come to visit. His goal for the future is to successfully complete his degree and to find a job in which he can help others.