Mature students discover how Cambridge can open doors

The event was organised to give mature students the chance to sample life at Cambridge by attending lectures and supervisions in the company of current mature students.

Most of the students who took part have already applied to one of Cambridge’s four mature colleges – Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish College, St Edmunds College and Wolfson College – and most were doing Access courses.

Pippa France (pictured), who is taking an Access course at City College Norwich, said that the day gave a valuable insight into what it would be like to study at Cambridge. She has applied to St Edmunds College to read law.

“I spent the day with a law student who’s at Lucy Cavendish. In the morning we went to a lecture on constitutional law at the Law Faculty, at lunchtime we went to a presentation by a leading law firm, and in the afternoon we went to the Squire Law Library and the University Library – both amazing,” she said.

Pippa, who has a ten-year-old daughter, says that taking an Access course has raised her confidence and given her direction and focus. “When I left school I went to university but I failed to complete my degree due to ill health. The Access course helped me to recognise my potential.”

A period of ill health was also a turning point for Wayne Stimson, who has applied to St Edmunds to read Natural Sciences. “I dropped out of A levels and worked in IT for 15 years. Ill health forced me to review my life and decide where my true interests lie,” he said.

Like several of the other participants in the pilot shadowing day, Wayne is taking an Access course at Cambridge Regional College – and, like Pippa, he plans to combine studying with being a parent.

Among the current mature undergraduates who had volunteered to host a prospective student was Myra Fonceca who is in her third year reading history at Lucy Cavendish. Now a grandmother, she left school when she was 16.

She said: “I've enjoyed my time here so much that I want to help other mature students overcome their fear of the unknown. I'd have loved a chance to do a day like that. The student who joined me for the day found the standard of the lectures better than she'd hoped - but not above her understanding.

“She seemed to feel more confident as a result. I think mature students need an idea of how they will feel or fit in among a group of teenagers - for many, it 's not a situation they find themselves in very often - especially if they are parents themselves - when they are exchanging their role of mother to one of 'equal'.”

CUSU Access Officer, Charlotte Richer said: “Feedback from the group was that the day had helped give them a real taste of the Cambridge experience. We’re really grateful to the current Cambridge students who volunteered their time and hope that the scheme will be expanded next year so more people can benefit.  My Mum studied as a mature student when I was younger, so I’ve seen first-hand the transformation in self-belief and life options that returning to education can offer someone.”