Stephen admitted that going to the College as a mature student was one of the scariest things he had ever done, but with the benefit of hindsight, it was one of the best decisions ever.
His advice to anyone thinking of going back to the books is simply: “Never hold back or think you can't do it. Just give it a go. You never know until you try, and might be surprised by what you are capable of. I know I certainly was.
“As I’d struggled at school, I had myself convinced that education wasn’t for people like me, but I realise now that education is for everyone.”
Stephen added that the Access Diploma helped him secure his current position as a driving examiner, a job he loves.
“Many of the young drivers doing the driving test are still at school and are worried and nervous about the test. I often break the ice by telling them about my exam experience and it can help settle them down.”
He explained what prompted him to do GSCE Maths at the College’s Newtownabbey campus.
“I was 35 and helping my daughter with her GCSE Maths revision and preparation for her exams. I’d always struggled with reading and writing and had left school with just one GCSE to my name.
Stephen continued: “I wasn’t bad at Maths so, I decided to go to Northern Regional College to do my Maths GCSE. At this stage, I had a family, I was a bus driver with Translink so signing up for the evening class, meant I was a very busy man.
“There was a great mixture of students in the Maths class, from teenagers to people that were older than me. It was hard work and time consuming but well worth the effort as I passed with a grade C.”
His next step was to take on GCSE English:
“I’d enjoyed school but always had issues with reading and writing so wasn’t overly confident, but I gave it my best shot, and lo and behold, I passed with another C grade.”
Armed with his GCSEs in Maths and English, Stephen enrolled on the Access Diploma in Social Sciences, a progression route to university for mature students which is validated by Ulster University.
The part-time course is delivered two evenings a week over a two-year period so his workload more than doubled.
Stephen explained: “At this stage, the College tested me for dyslexia, and it turned out that I was ‘severely dyslexic’. I never been tested before and often thought I might be dyslexic, so it meant a lot to me to get it confirmed.”
The Access Diploma gives students an opportunity to learn about a variety of subjects and, as part of the course, Stephen completed a study on dyslexia and educational low self-esteem.
“This was invaluable as it helped me find out more about myself, my thoughts and behaviour. I also have an auto-immune disease and, again as part of the Access Diploma course, I studied anatomy and physiology, which was very interesting.
“I completed the Access Diploma with Distinction – my first ever A – and will always be grateful for the help and support from my lecturers, my wife and family and my classmates. It took a lot of hard work, but it was worth every second of it.”
If you are inspired by Stephen’s success story, why not check out the range of full-time and part-time courses available at Northern Regional College.
Applications are now being accepted for the part-time courses starting in January 2023.