Qasim Shafiq now 24, had joined college after school but wasn’t really making much of an effort. He’d failed most of his GCSEs and was re-sitting English, but was more interested in a social life than getting on track for a career. Then at 19, Qasim was attacked in Huddersfield and with his 14 stab wounds, spent some time in hospital where he feels he realised it was time to change.

Qasim said: “I had lost track of my life and when I was stabbed I realised that I wanted to spend my time doing something meaningful and so I decided to pursue a life doing something I had always wanted to do; become a writer. I took the Access to Higher Education course at Kirklees College and it helped me change my life.
The tutor I had at the time really encouraged me to achieve my potential and in a life that didn’t have much inspiration besides my family, he made a difference and helped me to succeed in the course and go to university.”

Qasim completed his course in 2006 and went on to study for a BA Hons in Creative Writing at Kingston on Thames for two years, completing his third year at Bradford. Now, Qasim has a number of projects to his credit. He is currently on the Prince’s Trust programme at Kirklees College and also helps young people express themselves through music and poetry, then helps them promote their work through Twitter and blogs.

He said, “I reviewed the London Film Festival last year and it was an experience I thought I would never have. The Access course at college was the first stepping stone for me to go on to better things, giving me the confidence and motivation to move on in life. I tried a range of modules on the Access course and decided then that creative writing was definitely something I wanted to do.”

Now living in Huddersfield again, Qasim writes his own blog http//qscri.be and, whilst volunteering, is looking for the right job to suit his abilities.

The Access to Higher Education course prepares students for university and can be studied full or part time.
You can search for Access courses using our search facility on the website. For more information on VQ day go to www.vqday.org.uk