South & City student Harry France, 16 and from Hall Green is coming to the end of his media course at Level 2 and is looking forward to progressing to Level 3 this coming September.
Harry has flourished at college, after not doing particularly well at school. He describes the college environment as suiting his way of learning, as it is more practical and hands-on, rather than being purely classroom and exam based.
Media was chosen as a subject to study as he is very passionate about sports media and his ultimate ambition is to become a football commentator. At the age of 12, the likes of Darren Fletcher from BT Sports, Rob Hawthorne and Martin Tyler from Sky Sports, together with Birmingham favourite and ambassador of the college Tom Ross, were the catalysts that inspired Harry to follow in their footsteps.
The commentary that particularly stands out to Harry growing up was Tom’s commentary of the Carling Cup final in 2011 between Birmingham City and Arsenal.
Speaking about his memory of that game, Harry said, “The passion Tom put into the commentary really made it special for me and triggered my desire to follow in his footsteps.”
Recently Harry took the opportunity to volunteer to help with the recording of a video when Tom came into the college to interview college Principal Mike Hopkins and ex-footballer Geoff Thomas about their epic charity ride of the full Tour de France to raise £1 million for Cure Leukaemia.
When asked about what he enjoys about college and what his ambitions are, Harry said, “The tutors are great and easy to get along with. This really helps me learn easier and quicker.” He added, “I would love to be a footballer, but realise I am not quite good enough to make it professionally, so a really close second best is to work for Sky Sports in a Martin Tyler type role; bringing my footballing passion to the masses.”
The college wishes Harry all the best and hopes he achieves his dream career. We will be keeping in contact with him and watching with interest how he develops over the coming years.
Want to study Media with us? Our media and photography courses are delivered at our Digbeth campus, a creative hub in the heart of the city centre, and Longbridge campus (Bournville College) which boasts modern facilities and architecture. https://www.sccb.ac.uk/courses/media