August 24, 2026 - 140 views
A university student who faced significant challenges with reading and numbers as a young child has told how a move of almost 200 miles to North Wales helped transform her confidence, education and future.
Erin Moore, now 21, was diagnosed at the age of five with profound dyslexia and dyscalculia – a condition which can make understanding numbers and carrying out mathematical calculations particularly difficult.
While Erin was bright and capable, she found it difficult to keep pace with some aspects of her early education. Her family began looking for an environment where she could receive more specialised support and have the opportunity to develop her strengths.
After searching across the UK, her parents Helen and Willi Moore decided to move their family from Buckinghamshire so Erin could attend St David's College near Llandudno, an independent mainstream school which specialises in supporting pupils with dyslexia.
For Helen, who is a trained nurse and midwife and previously held a senior role in the pharmaceutical industry, the decision was driven by a desire to find the right educational setting for her daughter.
She said: "We were genuinely worried that she might never learn to read, that she might never learn to count.
"And it makes it worse when you actually know she is really smart, she is able and has such wonderful potential, she just needs the right support."
The family began exploring schools across England, the Midlands, Scotland and London before deciding that St David's College offered the kind of smaller classes and individual attention they felt Erin needed.
Helen said the turning point came because Erin was desperate to learn to read.
"Her dad Willi read to her every night, and she was frustrated that she wasn't reading and that was so hard to see," she said.
"That was why we chose to move her, because we felt the smaller class sizes would help.
"We were willing to do whatever Erin needed, to move to wherever we needed to move."
Erin joined St David's College at the age of 11 and says the experience changed both her education and her outlook.
"I found with the support of St David's College, everything was just a lot easier to manage," she said.
She also found reassurance in being surrounded by other young people who faced similar challenges.
"You met other people at the school who were also dyslexic, so you didn't feel so alone."
Perhaps most significantly, Erin developed a love of reading.
"I really did not like reading until I came to St David's College because I found it so difficult," she said.
After beginning to read books such as Harry Potter in Years 7 and 8, she discovered the enjoyment that reading could bring.
"It allowed me to get immersed in other worlds through reading and to do it myself and actually enjoy it."
Erin went on to become head girl during her final year at St David's College and achieved her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.
She says the school's outdoor education programme also had a major impact on her and her friends.
"One of my favourite parts of the school is that they embrace different forms of teaching and recognise many different types of intelligence that better reflects the real world," she said.
Her interest in psychology was encouraged by her teacher Sue Davies, ultimately helping inspire her decision to study the subject at university.
Erin went on to study A-Levels in psychology and English language and literature, alongside BTEC science.
She is now preparing to begin her final year studying psychology and sociology at Liverpool Hope University.
She says that, when she was younger, university had seemed a long way from her reach.
"Going to university didn't seem like a possibility, especially when I was quite young, because of my reading and writing ability at the time," she said.
Now, Erin is considering a future working in counselling or teaching – or potentially both.
"Going back to when I was 11, I never imagined I would love reading, and now it's one of my main hobbies, and that's thanks to the school."
Her mother Helen, who left the corporate world four years ago and now works locally as a GP practice nurse, remains closely involved with St David's College and is also one of its governors.
The school's headmaster Andrew Russell described Erin as a "truly remarkable young woman".
He said: "Her determined approach to all that she did at school was admirable, she was a pleasure to teach.
"Everyone at St David's College is thrilled to see how she has thrived at university and has a very bright future ahead."
He also praised Erin's family for the dedication and support they had provided throughout her education.
For the Moore family, the decision to relocate to North Wales was ultimately about finding an environment in which Erin's individual needs could be understood and her strengths encouraged.
More than a decade later, the young girl who once found reading and numbers such a challenge is preparing for her final year at university – with ambitions to use her own experiences to help others in the future.
