My journey

Jayne Mason explains how she overcame her fear of being too old to study to gain a First Class degree in Psychology at the University of Gloucestershire

For many years Jayne held a false belief that she was not academic
Became interested in higher education after looking for a new challenge
Studied an Access to Higher Education course as a route to higher education
Achieved GCSEs in Maths and English at the age of 42
Started a degree course at the University of Gloucestershire on the same day as her daughter
Was a senior student ambassador while studying
Graduated with a BSc Psychology with First Class Honours
Currently studying a Master’s degree in Health Psychology at the University of Gloucestershire

Coming from a single parent family and low-income background, I never felt I had the opportunities to have high career aspirations. These feelings were reinforced when I became a young mum and left school without any GCSEs. Believing myself not to be academic, I prioritised my family and set about doing the best job I could as a mum, wife and daughter.

Over the years I worked in many different jobs, including as a cleaner, delivery driver, taxi driver and school minibus driver. I also attended college and trained as a hairdresser and beauty therapist; that gave me 12 happy years of self-employment. Despite enjoying many of these roles, they were part-time positions that I could fit around my family, so I never earned a high income or felt I had achieved career success.

Returning to education

So, what brought me back to higher education? Family is very important to me and, like for many people, sometimes life just gets tough! Serious illnesses of family members, multiple bereavements, concerns for the physical and emotional wellbeing of others, family discord and strong feelings of ‘empty nest syndrome’ all happened within a short period of time. My life felt overwhelming and, emotionally, and I crashed.

Never wanting to be down for long, I looked for something positive to put my energy into and thought a new hobby could be the way forward. With a home full of boxes brimming with previous craft ventures, my ever-supportive husband rolled his eyes and said, “I think you need a bigger challenge,” something other than another skill learned from Pinterest or YouTube. With his support and belief in my capabilities, the notion of studying at uni emerged.

Not knowing exactly which career path to take but having always been interested in human mind and behaviour, the topic of Psychology seemed fascinating and appropriate. Now I had to work out what I needed to do to get to uni.

Having no academic qualifications, one route would be to attend my local college to study an Access to Higher Education course and maths and English GCSEs. These would provide a gateway to further my education.

Discovering hidden talent

That said, undertaking GCSE maths and English alongside Psychology, Sociology and Law was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done – definitely more challenging than a new Pinterest hobby! But with every complete assignment and unexpected Merits and Distinctions, I finally started to believe I might have some academic capabilities.

By completing my Access to HE course and achieving my first GCSEs at the age of 42, I had what I needed to enrol on an undergrad degree. When it came to applying for a suitable course, I found my local university – The University of Gloucestershire (UoG) – provided Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and, with help from my tutor at Gloucestershire College, I applied through UCAS.

Starting uni – like most new students – I was excited yet nervous and apprehensive. How would I manage financially? Would I feel out of my depth or unable to keep up? Was I capable of juggling study and family time? Or would I feel too old compared to those students who were fresh out of school? The last point made me particularly anxious as my daughter enrolled for her undergrad degree at the same campus, on the same day! I soon found all of these concerns were unnecessary.

Support to study

To help with money, I sought financial support from Student Finance England and was able to claim both tuition and maintenance loans. These enabled me to pay my uni fees and provided me with a source of income. I also found, as with most universities, UoG has many additional support resources available, such as a Student Helpzone, Student Achievement and a Future Plan team.

All these services greatly assisted me with general queries, health and wellbeing concerns, essay writing skills and understanding assignment briefs. They also helped me to build my CV, provided advice on career opportunities and assisted with job applications. I would 100% recommend everyone to tap into the available resources – it really can make a difference on personal, academic and professional levels.

Anxieties relating to my age were also unjustified. From my very first day on campus, I realised how wrong I’d been to believe I would feel too old as my course consisted of students of all ages. Walking around campus, I saw this to be the same for other courses too.

The benefits of adult learning

Additionally, instead of feeling embarrassed, my daughter was super proud to be attending uni at the same time as her mum; her new uni friends thought it novel too. In reality, there were many times I felt it was beneficial to be a mature student. The life skills and experience I have meant my time management abilities were better than some of my younger peers and, coming to HE later in life, I am very dedicated to my study.

What have I gained from returning to education? There are so many things I have gained since embarking on this journey. I feel my whole life has changed. I have made many new friends and professional connections, received excellent mentoring and have mentored others and been involved in research projects.

I work as a Senior Student Ambassador for UoG promoting awareness of HE. I also have gained employment in my desired career field, working as an intervention facilitator for two different behaviour change programmes. One aims to reduce the onset of eating disorders in adolescent females and the other works with perpetrators of domestic violence to amend abusive behaviours.

These great opportunities aside, the biggest gain by far is to my self-esteem by breaking misconceptions that I’m not academic. Last year, after three years of intensive study (especially difficult during a pandemic), I became a graduate of Psychology BSc with a First Class Honours, something I never envisaged when I left school without GCSEs. This was even more momentous as I shared my graduation with my two grown-up children, especially because my daughter graduated the same day!

New challenges

Despite these achievements, I still struggle with imposter syndrome at times, but I have learned to embrace these feelings. Stepping outside my comfort zone and taking up new challenges have enabled me to grow, increased my happiness and wellbeing and given me opportunities I never imagined.

I am still not fully sure what my dream job is, but I now have higher career aspirations and I am currently studying a Masters degree in Health Psychology. On completion, this could provide me with many different job opportunities. These include working within the NHS or healthcare services, academic teaching or studying a PhD, clinical research, public health services or other behaviour change interventions. I am also contemplating undertaking a Professional Doctorate to become a Chartered Health Psychologist.

One thing for sure, wherever my career path takes me, I know there are so many exciting and challenging new experiences ahead for me to look forward to.