Studying an Access to HE Health Professions course, Jay spoke about what his college experience has been like and what he’s learned along the way, with insights and tips for college life and confidence as an adult learner. Read on to find out more. 

Hello! Who are you and what are you studying? 

Hi! I’m Jay and I’m studying Access to HE Health Professions. 

You’re receiving an award for Access to Higher Education tonight – congratulations! Are you happy that you chose this path? 

I am, yes! It was a surprise that I was nominated, let alone winning the award. Out of everyone on the Access course, I didn’t think that I was going to be that was going to be the winner. I’m very excited and very happy to be here. 

What are your highlights from your time at the College? 

There are so many of them. Every day going to college has been fun, it’s something that I look forward to week in and week out, meeting all my colleagues and my work in class as well. It’s a great environment to work in so I’ve really enjoyed that. 

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced during your time at the College and how did you overcome it? 

The biggest challenge I had was that I’d been out of education for so long, I left school when I was 16 and I’m not 16 anymore! Coming back into education was quite a challenge, I didn’t think I could do it, so I had that self-doubt. But being welcomed in and being able to show what I can do has been something that I wasn’t expecting – it brought me out of my shell I suppose. 

How did you find the social life and study environment at the College? 

It’s a really nice environment to study in. The facilities there are great – whether we are in the classroom or library, it’s brilliant. 

In terms of the social side of things, being an Access student, a lot of the other colleagues on the course are a little bit older, so we do other jobs or working and so on. Social-wise, we try to stay in contact and organise events when we can. 

What achievement are you most proud of during your time at the College? 

The achievement that I’m most proud of is that to date, all my assignments I’ve achieved were distinction, which I wasn’t expecting at all. One would’ve been great but to achieve all of them to date is fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for any more. 

What are your future career aspirations? What are your plans for achieving them? 

I’m going to university in September to study mental health nursing, which was my main driver for going into an Access course. I’ve been accepted at my preferred university already, so I’m all ready to go in September and in three years’ time I should be out there working within the NHS. 

What advice would you give to someone applying for your course at Milton Keynes College today? 

Put aside any apprehension and self-doubt that you might have. I thought I was going to be the oldest person on my course and I’m not. Don’t put barriers in your way; don’t think that you can’t do it because you haven’t been in education for a long time. Just give it a go, really!

If you’re interested in studying Access to Higher Education courses at Milton Keynes College, you can learn more here.

Milton Keynes College has teamed up with Home Instead, a home healthcare services company who work with Age UK, to offer our Access to Higher Education (HE) learners insight into the domestic care industry. This collaboration has already produced two events, which have allowed our students to connect with care professionals and clients to learn more about the people and practices within the sector.

On 1st April, our Access to HE students met with staff from Home Instead at the Chaffron Way campus to create crafts while learning more about careers in domestic care. The crafts were inspired by conversations and themes around care, memory, and personal stories. On 29th April, Home Instead hosted an afternoon tea party at their Milton Keynes office, bringing together learners and clients for a relaxed afternoon of food and conversation. During the event, learners also had the opportunity to share their crafts with the clients.

Bringing together learners exploring careers in health and social care and the clients of Home Instead, the event was well-attended, and the learners enjoyed meeting the clients. As part of the event programme, some of the learners performed live music for the clients.

Feedback from Home Instead praised the event as a blend of joy, connection, creativity and care, and commended our students on their sociability and cheer. The collaboration between Home Instead and Milton Keynes College builds bridges between members of local community through shared experiences and deeper understanding of the issues of the clients of domestic care services.

Tess Gazeley, Deputy Head of School for Access to HE at Milton Keynes College, said: “”It was a fantastic opportunity to work with Home Instead. Our learners thoroughly enjoyed both events. They had the chance to learn about how the company supports its clients, interact with the company’s staff, and meet some of the clients themselves. Additionally, our learners received valuable advice on job opportunities to help them with their future career.

“We are really grateful for the opportunity and look forward to working with Home Instead again in the future.”

Zahra Kassim, Community Engagement Lead at Home Instead, said: “We hope the event inspired some of these bright young people to consider a career path in health and social care, where they can truly make a difference. A heartfelt thank you to Milton Keynes College for your continued partnership, and to every student, client, and team member who made the day so special.

“These moments of connection are what community is all about – and we’re already excited to see where the next phase of this collaboration takes us.”

To learn more about Milton Keynes College’s work with the community, read more here.

Salia-Isabela Tramandau

I moved to the UK from Romania towards the end of 2013 with almost no school education and with no knowledge of the English language. With the desire of learning, I enrolled at Milton Keynes College.

With my hard work, determination and persistence I have passed GCSE English, GCSE Maths and BTEC Business Administration. I now have a strong will and self-belief to achieve more. With the same passion and greater interest, I am continuing my journey of learning this year with ‘Access to HE in Computer Science’.

This course helps me to develop the technical vocabulary to share information and my understanding with no just colleagues but beyond. It has also groomed my ability to work under the short and tight timelines, taught me how to prioritise things and how to work as a team.

The first achievement on my assessments is Animation. I got a Distinction. This has been encouraging and motivating to do my very best to learn what I can, share all I have and contribute as much as possible to the class.

Through this course I pursue my dream of achieving a degree on Computing. Moreover the whole experience has also helped me to guide my children and inspire them.

One of the assessments in this current year is programming language. I was able to inspire my nine year old son to learn programming. He now reads ‘Python for kids’ learning tricks to program. His ultimate aim is to create a computer game using python.

My daughter is 17 years, seeing me continue my studies she feels inspired to achieve more. Having my responsibilities as a mother of two children and taking care of them, parallel with the time of doing my assessments has been a very demanding task. My time management always has been a challenge. I take my children to and pick them up from the school. I am taking my driving lessons. I train four times a week. I have a part-time job. My big struggle in my assessment is the language barrier as English is not my first language. I can say that the amount of time I had to put on my own research, planning and writing on a paper took me longer than expected.

All these factors at one point were affecting my study time. Though managing my time due to above whilst attending my classes at the college has been challenging, my persistence and determination has always kept me motivated. I am excited and glad to be studying this course now, not only does it satisfy my interests but also provides me with a great platform and immense confidence to pursue my Bachelor’s degree in the field of Computer Networks. I am currently enjoying my time doing my assignments and submitting it in on time.

With the goal to retrain to become an adult nurse, Annabel decided that it was now or never.

Why did you decide to study this particular course?

‘’I had some time off work raising my two small children who are now aged 5 and 7. I worked for several years prior to this as a Senior PA and Team Manager at an International Economics Consultancy based in Oxford. I’ve wanted to retrain to become an adult nurse for years now – so I decided that it was finally the time to take the plunge. As it has been so long since my A Levels and degree, the universities require that I prove I can write and study to level 3 within the last five years, hence why I am doing the Access course.’’

What have you enjoyed the most about the course so far?

‘’I’ve really enjoyed the variety of subjects and learning them to a level that I have never reached before. I have also really enjoyed the passionate teaching staff and their ability to run lessons so effectively – even remotely. I love getting to know the diverse people on the course – even with remote learning I have managed to strike up some great friendships with people.’’

How have your tutors supported you in your studies?

‘’The tutors have been fantastic in supporting us this year. It has been difficult with remote learning to get the experience that students would have had in a normal year, but they have gone the extra mile with handouts, assignment help sheets, taking teams messages, and phone calls to give us extra help. It has been really reassuring.’’

How does your course fit in with your family life?

‘’I chose the days that I wanted to come in and attend the course so that it gave me a clear window in the latter half of the week (so no lessons on Thursday and Friday). This worked well for me and meant that I had time to get on with other things like running the house and looking after my elderly father.’’

How do you think the course will benefit you once you have finished studying?

‘’The course has reminded me how important it is to be able to write a good essay and how to reference properly. It has put me in a great position for starting my degree.’’

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about applying to MK College?

‘’MK College is a fantastic place to learn with teachers who are passionate, highly qualified, and well-informed on their subject area. The learning environment is great, and the breadth and depth of subject area is so well taught and interesting.  

It is a great place to return to education with a huge variety of people choosing to do the same thing. You will meet lots of like-minded people and will be well supported along the way. Be prepared to work hard and commit to the course, but equally, enjoy the learning journey and make the most of the knowledge that the fantastic tutors impart to you.’’

If you fancy yourself a new career path or have a burning desire you pursue your passion as a job like Annabel, start the journey today by having a look at the courses we have to offer here.