A MAN from Salisbury who walked out of school aged 15 after being humiliated by a teacher has turned his life around decades later with the help of a literacy charity.

Alan, now in his early 50s, left school with no qualifications after struggling in lessons and feeling unsupported.

Recalling one painful classroom moment, he said: “The teacher told me to walk up to the front of the class and stand facing the black board. She drew her finger down my back and told me it was a yellow streak because ‘you’re a coward’.

“I walked out of lessons and went home and never went back.”

Although Alan built a successful career in construction and has worked for the same company since 1997, difficulties with reading continued to affect his confidence and opportunities.

“If I could read and write I would be a lot higher than I am,” he admitted.

After seeing Read Easy featured on television, Alan contacted the Salisbury-based literacy charity when he began struggling with a work course.

He was paired with volunteer reading coach Michelle Haskins, and the pair spent a year meeting twice a week at Five Rivers Leisure Centre.

Now Alan is studying towards an NVQ, reading Quick Read books from Salisbury Library and proudly keeping up with the scrolling subtitles on morning television.

But one moment means more than any qualification.

“I’ve always wanted to read to my grandchildren and I’ve actually done it because of Read Easy, and they loved it,” he said.

Michelle, a former teaching assistant, said volunteering had been hugely rewarding.

“I thought about doing this for the last few years,” she said. “I just thought it was so easy for me to give some of my time to help somebody else.”

Alan recently graduated from the programme and thanked Michelle for her support.

“I would like to give a big thank you to Michelle, who helped no end,” he said.

Read Easy South and East Wiltshire is currently looking for more volunteers across Salisbury, Amesbury and Tidworth.

More information about Read Easy UK and volunteering opportunities is available online.