Confidence coach hired by East Sussex College

Zoe Carroll has been hired by East Sussex College’s maths and English department on the Eastbourne campus.

A spokesperson for the college said, “It has been shown that performance for students in further education is closely related to confidence and self-belief, as well as knowledge of the subject being studied.

“With this in mind, the department bid for funding from the Office For Students Uni Connect project, through the Sussex Learning Network, to employ the services of Zoe.

“Zoe, as well as being a public services tutor at ESC, is a life coach with a specialism in fear and confidence, and is using this role to help prepare students ahead of their assessments.”

The GCSE students have been taught about what happens in their brains when they feel nervous, and given eight methods to apply before and during assessments to boost their confidence and self-belief, alongside techniques to stay calm.

Sandra Archer-Simmons, head of maths and English at the college, said, “We could see that our students needed support with their confidence and leapt at the chance to try something different.

“It has been great to have Zoe’s support and to show our students that by using these simple techniques, they can reach their potential in their assessments.”

According to the college, Zoe has previously worked with athletes who suffered from performance anxiety and has taken what she learnt and is applying it inside the classroom.

Zoe said, “When we’re anxious, our mind can start shutting down, while our body wants to run away, so it speeds up our heart rate and breathing.

“This isn’t ideal in an exam or test. If we can help these students to stay calm and manage their performance worries, they are better able to reach their potential.”

A spokesperson for the college said the coaching has already shown an increase of almost 25 per cent in students’ confidence levels.