Aspiration Awards 2022 - Against All Odds Highly Commended: Freddie Vokes

Designed to recognise learners who have overcome difficult personal circumstances in order to succeed in their studies, the Against All Odds award is very special and always attracts a huge volume of nominations. Freddie Vokes, a V Cert learner at APeducation Online, was awarded Highly Commended in this year’s judging. 

Totally obsessed with music 

12-year-old Freddie is totally obsessed with music – he eats, breathes, and sleeps it. Exceptionally gifted for his age, he already has a Grade 8 in piano and harp and is currently working towards Grade 6 Lamda and diploma singing exams.  

His school was at a loss with teaching him in this subject as he is well ahead of his peers and will complete his GCSE in music this year. Wanting to develop his music skills further, Freddie began the Level 2 Technical Award in Music Technology with APeducation Online. 

Freddie is truly an inspiration as, despite his significant special needs (dyspraxia and hard of hearing), he has never used this as an excuse not to succeed. He also battles anxiety daily due to bullying and he has had to go through the significant stress of his older brother having cancer.  

A new exciting venture 

Freddie recently lost a lot of learning time due to having Covid, and had to recap much of the content. However, APeducation Online provided him with all the necessary support and resources to catch up.   

The music technology V Cert has given Freddie a new exciting venture in order to further refine his musical skills. He feels that this course has been amazing for his personal journey as it’s more matched to his ability than his other Year 8 work.  

Freddie commented: “I love the music technology V Cert, as it enables me to be at a musical level that is more in tune with me rather than my age." 

Freddie has used these skills to create some amazing covers which he shares on YouTube and has even edited some of these himself using the skills he learnt in his V Cert qualification. Freddie can video himself rather than writing to pass the modules, which means he is assessed on his musical ability rather than his dyspraxia. 

Celebrating achievements 

Abhinav Mujoo, Director of Organisational Excellence at APeducation Online, said: “We’re very proud of Freddie and his achievements. His dedication and constant support from the staff and his tutor, Paul Littlewood, made this possible. Our learners’ needs are at the heart of all decision-making and learners like Freddie make us feel proud and helps us to accomplish our mission." 

Freddie’s mum added: “Freddie has gone from a child being inquisitive about music technology to being very competent and being able to produce his own music. I can’t thank APeducation Online and NCFE enough for the opportunity you’ve given my son Freddie.” 

Our Against All Odds 2022 Highly Commended: Freddie Vokes, APeducation