A FORMER student who battles with psychotic depression has spoken of the support he was given while attending UTC Heathrow at Northwood.

Jacob Day, 19, was diagnosed with the condition in 2020, while he was in Year 12. It involves visual and auditory hallucinations. He had to be sectioned for a time but says the school staff and his friends supported him on his mental health journey.

“It was embarrassing, having outbursts, but they [the school] made me feel so accepted,” he said.

“All I really wanted was to be a regular student, a regular teenager and that's how they made me feel.

“I can't thank them enough how they went out of their way to help me.

“For example, they had a room I could go to in case I was distressed, and they would always check up and talk to me.

“When I was sectioned, one teacher, Ian, would reach out to my mum every week to make sure I was all right.

“They really helped integrate me back into school because I felt quite distanced from everyone, especially after being sectioned where you're by yourself quite a lot of the time.”

Jacob’s illness didn’t hold him back academically. He left school with Level 3 in Cyber Security and Security Administration and A-level Computer Science.

After starting university to study Ethical Hacking and Cybersecurity, he realised it wasn’t for him, so transferred to Coventry University, where he now studies International Business.

But that’s not all…Jacob has also founded his own marketing company, Guppy Fish, and is also chief operations officer of an anti-knife crime organisation in Coventry.

“You see knife crime everywhere, it’s part of gang culture,” he said. “I work alongside a former gang member – so he knows what he’s talking about.

“We work with people to educate them away from carrying knives and help them get suitable jobs.

“It’s made me grateful for my education because my time spent at UTC was hands-on practical and gave me career ambition. I want the people I work with to get this.”