Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
13
Aug
A level results enable paralysed Ripon teenager to pursue his passion for flight
A Ripon Grammar School student who defied expectations after a life-changing accident is celebrating A level success – and is about to take his passion for aviation to new heights.
Alan Nowicki, 18, has achieved strong results in maths, physics and chemistry, securing his place to study aerospace engineering at Loughborough University.
Alan was just 15 when a freak accident involving a pull-up exercise bar left him paralysed from the waist down and forced him to rethink his childhood ambition of becoming an RAF pilot.
But rather than allowing the accident to define his future, Alan has continued to pursue his love of flying and now hopes to become an aircraft designer.
He has already passed his driving test in a specially adapted car and, following a work experience placement at Yorkshire Gliding Club near Thirsk, has taken to the skies in a glider.
Alan Nowicki at Yorkshire Gliding Club.
Alan said:
I am really happy with my results and that I’ve secured a place at my first-choice university.
It feels really good knowing that the things I thought weren’t possible after the accident still are in some way, and it has given me a new perspective on things.
Alongside his A level studies, Alan has maintained a demanding programme of physiotherapy, completing around three hours of exercises six days a week, while continuing to enjoy school, friends and the gym.
His mother, Kamila, said that seeing Alan healthy, independent and continuing with his education was a huge achievement for the family.
Much as I believed in him, it was a stressful time waiting for the results, as finding the university with the right accessibility features suitable for his needs wasn’t easy. Once found, the pressure and hopes were very high.
Now, with his A-levels behind him and university ahead, Alan is taking another major step towards the future he once feared might no longer be possible.
In a press release, Ripon Grammar School described Alan's determination to keep pursuing his ambitions as "an inspiration to everyone at RGS", and added:
The school wishes him every success as he prepares to spread his wings in the next chapter of his journey.
0