Devon's story

I am 19 year old, but I came to Britain from Trinidad when I was 9. I spent the first couple of years living with my uncle, but things didn’t work out. I was taken into care when I was 11 and a half.

First of all I was moved to live with white foster carers, but things didn’t work out for loads of reasons. I think that they found it hard to understand my culture, but I also had trouble adjusting to life in a white British home.

Eventually, I think my social workers could see it wasn’t working for me and they found me a foster placement with a family from Guyana. Things were so much better! They cooked the kind of food that I liked, they went to the same kind of church as me, they even used words and expressions that I recognised from back home. I felt much happier.

While I was getting on better at home, things weren’t so great on the outside

When I was living in Trinidad, people really looked up to the British way of life. UK schools were considered to be the best.

But once I got here, I realised that the schools in inner cities aren’t really what people in Trinidad imagined them to be. Also, I realised that black boys, especially from the Caribbean, don’t do so well. I don’t know who’s to blame for any of this… sometimes it seems that the education system isn’t designed for black kids, but then other times I look at the attitude of black kids and I think they’re to blame. It’s complicated.

Whatever, I started to find it tough. There was pressure to hang out with other kids, to get involved in things that I probably should have stayed away from.

All in all, I ended up not really applying myself. Sure enough, when the exams came around, I didn’t do so good. I was mad at myself, I knew I was smart and that I could have done really well. But I was also angry with the school, because I felt they’d let me down.

Skills in other departments 

Luckily for me, I knew things were slipping before the grades even came in!

I’ve always been really good with figures. In Trinidad I used to help out in my father’s store, selling electrical goods. So I realised that even if school wasn’t quite the thing for me, I had skills in other departments.

I was living in an area that had a lot of Caribbean people, but not so much Caribbean food. I’ve always been handy in the kitchen, and with what I knew about business, I convinced my carers to let me set up a market stall.

Things were slow to start with and we made some big mistakes. But after a while we were doing alright.

I’m now doing it on my own, and making good money while also having fun. It’s nice to meet new people and also see the same old faces coming back for more. It’s satisfying to know that I am doing something that other people enjoy.

I guess if I have a message it’s to work out what you’re good at and channel that into something that makes you happy. Some are good at school, whereas some aren’t. There’s many reasons for that, but it’s best not to get angry. Stay focused!