Hi! My name is Ben Kirton and I am currently at the start of my placement year as part of my Psychology BSc at the University of Manchester. I’m a big Newcastle football club fan so I love getting up home to watch games whenever I can. I also enjoy playing badminton and tennis, even if I am pretty terrible at the latter. Outside of sport I really love film (especially a good rom com) and the cinema, since it gives me an excuse to stuff my face with a pick and mix.

My journey to HSR Psychology . . .

During my GCSEs I began to learn about the mechanisms of how we behave and interact with the world. It was here that my interest in psychology took hold. Carrying on my study into university (with a brief detour through engineering) has been incredibly enjoyable. Volunteering at my local library to host and support various themed events gave me my first experience working with kids. This left me with plenty of memories that I look back on fondly. This experience, along with my love of psychology, fuelled my desire to join the HSR psychology team.

My love of psychology, fuelled my desire to join the HSR psychology team.

Studying at the University of Manchester has helped me to uncover that my primary interest is child development. This became apparent to me during my first year when I was able to study early development in depth. This was later consolidated when I got the opportunity to help in the analysis of a child development project. This project gave me the chance to get hands on with analysing how children interact with their parents while reading. Sparking a desire to be involved in using psychology to benefit others.

What is ahead?

I am very excited to get the opportunity to see clinical and educational psychologists in action. The work happening at HSR Psychology to help young people achieve their potential is what I would like to be doing one day myself. A chance to peer into that future is very exciting. As well as this, getting to meet some of the young people and see the help we are providing having an impact on them is something I can’t wait to follow! I know I’m going to gain so much from my time here and I am looking forward to every day to come.