A FOOTBALL career could be on the cards for a teenager who has turned his life around.
James Couchman, 18, passed only a handful of GCSEs at St Andrew's School in Leatherhead, but walked home on Thursday with an A, a B and a C in his A levels.
He will now head to the USA to start a football scholarship.
"I wasn't reaching my potential and the group of boys I was with was part of it as well," he said.
"My motivation was all my mates leaving school and me being the last one. So it thought, 'alright then, put your head down'.
"I got accepted for this football scholarship so I knew I needed to knuckle down to get good grades."
James, who lives in Tadworth, was accepted after taking part in three trial football matches and now has to sit the American SAT exams to find out which college he can study at.
He said: "I would like to go to Atlanta Georgia as a couple of my mates are already playing football with them. They say it's really good.
"I am hoping to have a career in football but if not I will have my degree to fall back on."
Assistant head of sixth form Victoria Bostock, James' media teacher, said: "I have known James since he was 16 and he's really turned it around. He's not just a good student but actually a great part of the sixth form, he's a personality. All credit to him for motivating himself to get the result he deserves."
Article by Leatherhead Advertiser at thisissurreytoday
