Learn at the UCP

There is a lot of financial help available for mature students who want to return to education and UCP can help guide you to how to access it. Like Emma and Michael, your tuition fees could be covered by Student Finance and be eligible for a maintenance loan, a Childcare Grant and even a Parents’ Learning Allowance to help fill the earnings gap whilst you learn.

Emma

Life gets busy…especially when you have children. The days are long and the years are short, add in a few unexpected curve balls that force bestlaid plans off track and it’s easy to wonder if you’ve done everything you can to become the best version of yourself. Is it too late to make dramatic mid-life changes, especially when you’ve dependants to consider, and can you afford to make those changes – the answer is: it’s never too late, and, can you really afford not to make those changes? We all have different stories of when we became parents and how we came to be where we are now but that doesn’t have to be our only story and parents like Emma and Michael Nicholls are an inspiration to us all as they prove just that. Emma and Michael, parents of three, have both gone back to school after almost a decade. Embracing the chance for a better future for their family and more personal fulfilment, they’re undertaking degrees at The University Centre Peterborough. Emma with a BA (Hons) Psychosocial Studies degree and Michael, who left school without any qualifications, will be following in her footsteps as he starts his BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences degree in September. Both completed Access to HE courses at Peterborough Regional College and gained Level 3 qualifications. Emma, who was a teen mum, spent her early years raising eventually three children – the eldest of whom is now 13 years old. “Now I’d had my kids and they were in school, I felt the urge to further my own career by going to university,” explains Emma. Before enrolling at UCP, Emma had to complete her Level 2 English and Science double-award GCSE in order to do an Access to Higher Education Humanities and Social Sciences course (equivalent to A Levels) at Peterborough Regional College – her first steps back into education. “I really enjoyed the psychology element of the Access course and so my teacher encouraged me to apply to UCP. I needed to be in Peterborough for my family, I was familiar with the lecturers already from the Access HE course and I really liked how small the campus was as fewer people meant more one-to-one classes, which has been invaluable!” she adds. “Juggling study with home life has been challenging, but after-school clubs for the children really helped and 85% of the fees are paid by student finance. Planning ahead, I’d say, is vital; knowing what evenings you have to work or if you need to take a child to an after-school club and planning life around the days you need to be in University take coordination but it’s doable,” Emma says. Now in her final year, and having gained experience volunteering as a research assistant through CPFT NHS (Charity for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust), Emma wants to take her schooling even further with a developmental psychology conversion Masters once she has the necessary experience. Her ambition and hard work have been of huge inspiration to husband Michael who is embarking on a BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences degree at UCP with the view of becoming an immunologist. Having left school at 13 to join the Link programme and start a career in mechanics, Michael wants to switch to science and his preaccess and Access to HE course gave him the GCSE and A-Level equivalents that he needed to enrol at UCP. “On my Access to HE course there were a real mix of people from school leavers and career changers to over 50s and even someone who wanted to change their University course and according to Emma University is no different,” Michael says adds. “At times I thought I might be too old to learn at that level or it would become too much on top of family responsibilities, but you amaze yourself and my children motivated me to do well and set a good example. It’s never too late,” Emma adds.

University Centre Peterborough (UCP) offers a broad portfolio of courses covering a range of subject areas and are rapidly developing specialisms in a number of key areas. Its growing portfolio of courses reflect the needs of students and local, national and international employers thus leading to genuine employment opportunities. The University Centre was established in 2007 as a joint venture between Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Peterborough College. It’s now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Inspire Education Group. UCP is approved by The Open University as an appropriate organisation to offer higher education programmes leading to Open University validated awards at both Peterborough and Stamford campuses. UCP is also an approved partner of ARU. As a relatively new institution, UCP has a learning environment that is different to other universities, its strength comes from its smaller size, which enables it to put you at the heart of everything it does. When you study with UCP, it will support your development and help you in achieving your career and personal ambitions. www.ucp.ac.uk