Timofei studied four A levels with NEC in maths, further maths, physics and economics and achieved great results, obtaining an A*, two A and a B grade respectively. He is now moving on to study mathematics and physics at the University of Edinburgh.

Timofei is seventeen years old and lives in St Petersburg, Russia. His ambition was to study at university in the UK so he chose to continue his school education with a distance learning college based in the UK. He had studied IGCSEs in the Russian education system and wanted to seek out a high-quality provider to study A levels. After trying another distance learning provider for a year, Timofei decided to switch to NEC, as it had a “very good reputation” so he was confident that he would get the very best support and course materials.

“I was really happy studying at NEC, my learning experience was very positive.”

Before beginning his studies, Timofei felt that studying from another country might be challenging because A levels are very different to the equivalent qualification in Russia. However, Timofei found that the well-structured courses and frequent communication with NEC helped him adjust to the new education system relatively quickly. 

“It was a great pleasure to work with all my tutors, the feedback and advice that they gave me were very important to me. I also want to thank the student support team who helped me with a lot of issues, including my university application.”

One of Timofei’s favourite parts of learning with NEC was the digital platform, learn@nec, which allowed him to connect with other students and share their passion for their subjects. This helps our students bring their studies to life and explore wider intellectual interests. Timofei remains animated and enthusiastic about his subjects and is excited to delve further into them during a degree.

“There were some fascinating discussions in the course discussion forums that were really interesting to me. I am really interested in the subjects that I have studied, and I hope I will continue studying them at university. ”

Timofei believes that the greatest advantage of studying with NEC is flexibility. Timofei successfully managed his own time, completing four A levels to a high standard. He always found time to pursue his other passions in football, volleyball and chess. Timofei is proud of the independent learning skills that he has developed during his A levels and he is confident they will make the transition to university a little easier.

“I could study any time I wanted. I was able to study at my own pace, completing the course step by step.”

NEC is an educational charity that was founded with the mission to give everyone access to education without institution, to study in their own time and at their own pace. Our students are able to fit their education around their individual needs and it is success stories, like Timofei’s, that demonstrate how versatile distance learning can be. NEC equips its students with the best tools and support to achieve their ambitions through independent and proactive learning. 

Many of our students overcome obstacles to study successfully with NEC, such as Timofei adjusting to a totally new educational system. But for Timofei, the road to success can be boiled down to a simple piece of advice:

“Be motivated and take your studies seriously. It is really important to work hard and practice a lot to receive high marks.”

All of us at NEC wish Timofei all the best in his plans to attend university, equipped with these impressive A level grades.