WANTING to make a structural difference inspired Lucas Calvert to A-Level brilliance – and a packed schedule.
For the Denton lad somehow found the time to study towards three A* grades and two As.
The former pupil at Audenshaw School is now going on to study Civil Engineering at Imperial College London – the only student from Ashton Sixth Form College to go there.
And he already has his eyes on being able to influence what appears on the landscape in future.
Lucas, who scored A* in Maths, 3D Design and the extended project qualification (EPQ) and As were in Further Maths and Physics, said: “I’m not 100 per cent sure, but I’d like to do something in the civil and structural field.
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been really interested in construction and stuff like that.
“I loved Lego and things like that. Loved building simulation games. So, my dream job would be to work in building the skyline in Manchester or something like that.
“But with my degree, it’s quite broad, so I could go into something environmental or something more civil, like road work.
“With doing engineering as well, you always have the option of going into finance as well, because you use a lot of maths in your degree.
“I’ve got options, but I think structural stuff is what I’d like to do.”
With five subjects on the go at once, Lucas has already showed his able to structure things well, like hi week.
While students get on average seven free periods, he had just one.
But he added: “I balanced it quite well. I always kept myself busy, but I’m very happy with it.
“Whenever I had a free period, I didn’t do any work, because I only had one and I did a lot of work at home, especially in second year.
“I’d wake up early in the morning to balance it. I worked really hard, especially in second year, because that’s when I did my EPQ.
“As it got closer to A-levels, I was probably getting up at 6am every day, and then revising in the mornings, and then revising after college as well.
“I managed to balance it really well, but when it came towards exams it got really stressful.”
With grades like Lucas’, you could forgive him for not being stressed when it came oi results time.
Not a chance.
“I was really nervous when I woke up,” he told The Correspondent. “I was absolutely dreading it.
“I actually got a message from my university at 7.57am that I was in, So I found out three minutes before everyone else.
“And as soon as I saw that, I was like, ‘Wow, that really scared me.’
“Coming to Ashton, I knew that it was an outstanding college, according to Ofsted, and it’s been great. The teachers are brilliant.
“Everyone in the lessons is there because they want to be there and the teachers are very good at responding as well.
“And they do support you if you do for A-Levels. They don’t recommend it to everyone, because of how hard it is to balance it.
“It’s a lot of juggling, but if you do choose to do it, they do really support you.”