Christian’s Story

Cristian was referred through the Thrive Service here at Inspire. When we first met with his mum, it was clear that Cristian was struggling with self-belief and uncertainty about his next steps.

He had previously attended Suffolk New College for a short time, but it hadn’t worked out — it simply wasn’t the right fit for him.

Cristian was very academic, having achieved strong GCSE results and showing great potential, but he lacked direction and confidence in himself.

To help with this Matt starting working with him, his focus was on building his self-confidence and identifying his strengths.

Matt invited Cristian to visit Suffolk One Sixth Form College. During their visit, they had a tour of the building and looked around some of the classrooms. Afterwards, Cristian mentioned that he really liked the atmosphere and “vibe” there.

In our next session, we applied together for a course in Game Design and A Level Maths, and he was accepted to start in September.

Over the summer, they continued to work on confidence-building activities — such as setting small personal goals, practising positive self-talk, and preparing for the transition to college life. These sessions made a noticeable difference; Cristian gradually became more open, positive, and self-assured.

A few weeks after he started college, Matt met up with him again and was amazed by the change. He was smiling, making eye contact, and speaking with real enthusiasm about his course.

Seeing his progress made his coach so proud — it reminded Matt and us here at Inspire why we love the work we do.

Cristian thanked Matt for the support and guidance I had given him, and I felt a huge sense of satisfaction knowing that he was now confident, happy, and thriving.