Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote may be best known for some great passing on the pitch but he has also just achieved a great pass in the classroom with help from Newcastle College.
Tutor Vicki Frith, who has been teaching English courses at Newcastle College for the past ten years, has helped French-speaking Tiote, from the Ivory Coast, pass an English Language exam.
Tiote’s training schedules prevented him from coming into college classes, so Vicki arranged to visit him at the training ground or stadium for one-to-one coaching sessions.
Vicki said: “Sometimes I’d even teach Cheick in the evenings as this was the only spare time in the day due to his schedule. He did however have to come in to the college to take his exams.
“Cheick is a very motivated person in both his sport and his studies. It was really rewarding to work with him and he deserves this success.”
But Tiote is not the only footballer that Vicki has worked with. She also taught Turkish national and former Galatasaray star, Bulent Korkmaz, who was a student at Newcastle College.
Tiote said: “I’m really grateful to Vicki. Trying to do this without her support would have been so much more difficult. I’m really pleased to have passed and much more confident about my English as a result – I just need to work on my Geordie now!”
Sheran Johnson, head of the Teaching Development Centre said: “At Newcastle College we aim to treat every student as an individual and support them whatever their particular circumstances.
“For Cheick we had to be particularly flexible and create a bespoke learning package for him, but it’s not unusual for our dedicated tutors like Vicki to often go that extra mile to help students achieve their personal goals.”
Tiote is just one of a number of successful adults gaining qualifications in a range of subjects at Newcastle College. The college is supporting Adult Learner’s Week this week (12th-18th May), the UK’s largest annual festival of learning; inspiring thousands of people each year to discover how learning can change their lives.
To find out about the wide range of courses on offer for adult learners visit www.newcastlecollege.co.uk or call 0191 200 4000.
