A Nuneaton mother who returned to education and graduated from the University of Warwick this week has inspired her whole family to do the same.

Former bank manager, Susan Adcock, 53, has gained a 2:1 in Social Studies through Warwick’s Centre for Life Long Learning. Now her husband, daughter and son have all taken or enrolled on courses at the university too.

Sue decided to return to education after looking for a change of career.

She said: “I realised that most of the jobs I was interested in required a degree so I didn’t think a career switch would be possible because I did not have the formal qualifications to get on a degree course. But then I spotted a prospectus for Warwick’s Centre for Lifelong Learning (CLL) in the supermarket and found a route to gaining a degree which did not require those traditional qualifications. It was the opportunity I really wanted but didn’t think existed.”

Sue, who lives in Ansley Common, took the 2+2 degree course, run by Warwick’s Centre for Life Long Learning. She studied for two years at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College (NWHC) before finishing her final two years at the University.

She is delighted to have graduated and has found the experience very rewarding. She said: “I have surprised myself constantly. I was amazed to be accepted, and then survive the assessments and all the new academic ways of writing and presenting.

“I found that it doesn’t matter if you have not achieved academically in the past, if you want to learn The University of Warwick’s Centre for Lifelong Learning gives the support and encouragement to achieve.”

After seeing Sue’s achievements, her daughter Sam Jackson, 30, enrolled on the course and has just completed her first year of the same degree, and Sue’s son Scott, 23, has also applied for the course and will start this year. Husband Michael, 54, has successfully completed the Centre’s Gateway to Higher Education course, a free 18 week programme that allows adult learners to sample what it would be like to return to education without committing to a full degree.

Sue said: “My family has come around to the idea that gaining higher qualifications is a great way to enhance career prospects as well as leading to some intellectual fulfilment. My Son, Scott, who will be 24 at the end of July, is waiting for his official offer letter to start the 2+2 at NWHC in October this year. I am so excited for him as it will open so many doors.

“If it is the right thing for you, I would encourage anyone and everyone to return to education. The most important thing you need is enthusiasm for learning.”

Sue will be continuing her education next year having been offered a place on CLL’s Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) with the ambition of a career in teaching.

To find out more about the 2+2 degree, visit www.warwick.ac.uk/cll.

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