In this group you'll find a collection of aspiring student and alumni stories. If you want to share your journey with us, or feel you have an acheivement to shout about to help motivate others, email ou-stories@open.ac.uk
OU student wins Adult Learner’s Week award
Ken endured a turbulent childhood and schooling, leaving without any qualifications but he showed a natural flair for weight training at his local youth club. This developed into a lengthy career gaining many weight-lifting titles and world records – including pulling the most number of cars [17!] from a standing start over a distance of 30 feet. His sporting achievements, combined with skills learned on fitness and teaching short courses, led to him running a fitness gym and coaching.
A lack of formal qualifications, however, became a barrier to coaching at a higher level, so Ken decided to enrol on the OU’s Sport, Fitness and Management (E112).
Though Ken initially struggled with the academic aspect of the course, it was after being diagnosed with dyslexia that he received relevant assistance and support to help him complete the course and is now studying a Foundation Degree in Sport, Fitness and Management in order to fulfill his ambition of becoming coaching on a national level.
Ken will be presented with his Regional Individual Award at the South East Adult Learners' Week Regional Award Ceremony, at the Museum of London, on Tuesday 17 May 2011.
Pictured is coach Ken Wildman (right) with Kelvin Daniels, a Royal Marine amputee and current British power lifting Champion.
Ken Wildman, 55, from Folkestone, has enjoyed a successful career in weightlifting that has seen him entertain crowds throughout Europe. It is his desire to become a national coach, though, which has led him back into learning and to be recognised for his dedication and commitment with a Regional Individual Award as part of the twentieth Adult Learners’ Week (14 - 20 May ...
Degree joy for Jan following cancer battle
Jan Owen carried on studying for her degree throughout a year of gruelling cancer treatment. Often pausing to think "what's the point?" she persevered and is glad she did. She's now celebrating being in remission and achieving an OU degree...
She said studying with the OU helped her battle through the long bouts of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. “It really gave me something to focus on,” she said. “And it’s made me realise how important education is and how much it broadens your horizons.”
Jan left school at 16 and worked in a bank. “Nobody in my family had gone to university, and I think I was just expected to leave school, get a job and get married."
But as she progressed in her work, increasingly she found that new entrants were graduates. “I might have had a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I thought 'everyone has a degree and I want one'.”
She began studying part-time for her degree in 2005, having already taken a foundation course with the OU in her 20s. But midway through her studies in June 2008, Jan was diagnosed with breast cancer. The illness was at an advanced stage and she underwent seven months of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, removal of lymph nodes in her left arm, reconstructive surgery, and five weeks of daily radiotherapy. She is currently part-way through five years of hormone therapy.
Throughout her treatment at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, Jan refused to give up on her studies, and spent the long hours at the oncology unit poring over her books and writing essays. “I thought that if I stopped, I would never start up again,” she said. “With the prospect of facing my own death and leaving a husband a widower and three young children motherless, sometimes I found it hard to see the point in carrying on with my studies.
“Spending hours working on the assignments trying to meet deadlines often seemed unimportant in the great scheme of things. But I’m glad I persevered, and I had a very understanding tutor who extended deadlines when I needed them.”
Jan is currently in remission. She is enjoying the break from studying, but is considering going on to study for a Masters degree. “My husband Nigel’s got a Masters, and now I’m starting to think I want one too,” she said.
She believes her studies have made her a good role model for daughters Mair, 10, Ellie, 11, and Georgia, 13. “The Open University is an excellent model of how education should be. It keeps you motivated and makes you want to learn,” she said.
“It’s an excellent way to get a degree, and in this climate when higher education is getting more and more expensive, I would certainly recommend it.”
Jan Owen carried on studying for her degree throughout a year of gruelling cancer treatment. Often pausing to think "what's the point?" she persevered and is glad she did. She's now celebrating being in remission and achieving an OU degree... Jan, a bank clerk and mother-of-three from Landrake near Saltash, was awarded a 2:1 BA (Hons) in English Language and English ...
Law degree tribute to vCJD victim Claire
After Devon teenager Claire McVey died from vCJD, her mother Annie began a law degree with the OU to help her navigate the legal system in her battle for compensation...
“Claire had been interested in law and she might well have gone on to study it herself if she had had the chance,” she said. “It was a terrible loss to the family – it should have been us going to her graduation ceremony.”
Claire McVey died from the human form of BSE, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, in 2000. She was aged just 15 and was one of only 177 known victims worldwide. Her death plunged mother Annie into a long battle over compensation claims for victims’ families.
Annie began studying law with the OU in 2004. “When Claire died, we were thrown into this political and legal melee, but it wasn’t a legal system that I recognised," she said. "There was this yawning gap between the pure sense of justice that most of us have, and the legal system I was suddenly involved in. I felt I needed to understand it.”
Ms McVey is disabled and the OU was able to support her in her studies, allowing her to take exams at home and giving her extended deadlines on coursework. “My health has actually improved while I was doing the course, and I think a large part of that is the discipline of the OU and having to meet deadlines," she said. "It was also a good distraction and I met some fantastic people – it also made me more argumentative and more determined.”
Last year Ms McVey and other families took their case to the High Court over what they claimed was a ‘flawed’ Government compensation scheme. But their challenge and a subsequent Court of Appeal action failed.
Annie now plans to become a qualified legal executive, and hopes to go on to take a Masters degree in Medical Ethics.
“I cannot praise the Open University highly enough,” she said. “It allows people like me who can’t go to university full time, to study for a degree. And the quality of the courses and the support they have given me has been excellent.
“My partner Wayne and other members of the family are now following my example and studying with the OU.”
Useful links
After Devon teenager Claire McVey died from vCJD, her mother Annie began a law degree with the OU to help her navigate the legal system in her battle for compensation... Now Ms McVey, 53, from Kentisbury, has graduated with a Bachelor of Law honours degree, which she has dedicated to Claire’s memory. She was awarded her certificate at the April 2011 degree ceremony in ...
OU degree brings Roz new career
Roz Lambert was once struggling to bring up four children on her own while living on benefits. Now she has turned her life around - she owns her own home and has built herself a new career thanks to her studies with the OU...
Eight years ago her world fell apart when her marriage broke down. “Suddenly I found myself in a situation where I was the sole provider for my family - I had to build their lives again.”
Her self-esteem and confidence at rock bottom following the break-up. While seeing a counsellor Roz was advised to enrol with the OU. Although she had taken A-levels at school she had never considered going to university, thinking she wasn’t clever enough. She began by taking an Introduction to Humanities course (now replaced by AA100 The arts past and present), and soon found that her fears about higher education were unfounded.
“When I started, I had absolutely no self-confidence at all, but my tutor was really positive and supportive. I never believed I could complete the whole degree and just took one course at a time.”
Keen to get off benefits, Roz took three jobs to make ends meet and support her family. But she still managed to make time for her studies. Gradually her career progressed and today she manages six children’s centres for the national charity 4Children.
Her children Hamish, 22, Polly, 21, Gemma, 19, and Alexander, 16, are very proud of her achievement and have followed in her footsteps. “They are all doing well, one having graduated, another at university and the younger two planning to go,” she said. “The Open University has literally been a life saver for me and I would recommend it to anyone.”
Roz Lambert was once struggling to bring up four children on her own while living on benefits. Now she has turned her life around - she owns her own home and has built herself a new career thanks to her studies with the OU... Roz, 47, from Bradford-on-Avon, was awarded a BA (Hon) in Childhood and Youth Studies at the April 2011 graduation ceremony at the Barbican in London. ...
OU grad helping to educate the women of Cameroon into better life
Tabea Müller is an OU graduate who studied in Hamburg, Germany. Keen to use her degree in the field, Tabea now works in a development role in Cameroon and writes regularly about her experiences for well-known German weekly newspaper Die Zeit...
More than 10 years ago Tabea Müller completed her BSc (Hons) with the OU. After digging into the theories of gender, development, environmental policy and social psychology she now works with women in Cameroon who hope to make better lives for themselves through education.
“After a hard working day on their farms or in the market, three dozen women aged between 30 and 75 still have an important date. Two to three times a week they go to their literacy course. They try to catch up on what they missed out on when they were younger, when their families had no money for education or it was simply not seen as important that a girl goes to school. The women are participants of the Women’s Economic Empowerment and Literacy Project (WEELP) of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) which we carry out in the north-west of the country, sponsored by Mission 21.
“It’s 8am. My Cameroonian colleague and I find a taxi and squeeze ourselves next to a number of other people into an old car. Muddy roads lead us through amazing landscapes. White morning clouds hang halfway between the clear, green mountains. Waterfalls rush down from the shiny rocks. What a beautiful country! On the roadside, women have already started to prepare their fish rolls and puff-puffs which swim in hot oil over a small fireplace. Our destination today is a small Sunday school house in a village in north-western Cameroon. The group of women greets us with stormy embraces, joyful voices and small dances.” Some hours later we find ourselves in discussions about the best food for pigs, current market prices as well as health issues of the newborn piglets,” says Tabea. “Women share their experiences, ask questions, learn together and try out new ideas. All of them are self employed farmers, small producers or traders who feed their families with their own small farms, animal rising or small market activities. What have they all come for?
“The women want to know: how can I improve my business performance? How can I stop hand-to-mouth living and overcome poverty? How can I gain independence and power over my own life and decisions?
“With WEELP, we use and update the various abilities and experiences women are already equipped with. We counsel and accompany women on their different journeys to make their dreams come true. We work with self employed women of all religious backgrounds and ages who have not be able to get much in the way of education so far.”
Through workshops and training the women gain new knowledge and confidence. The project puts emphasis on sustainable production methods to protect the health of the women and their families, to protect the environment and secure long-term use of natural resources. The women are encouraged to exchange their experiences, to learn from and support each other. And not at least, WEELP offers courses on adult literacy.
“We believe that with economic power, women will also gain more social power and self-esteem which can help to make the world a better place,” says Tabea. “It’s amazing to see how the project has changed women’s lives over the last two years. Little things, small initiatives can and do make a difference. The project is still very small scale and has a low budget. But many raindrops make an ocean. We are close to the people, work together with them, at their speed, according to their needs.”
Tabea has been living in Cameroon for two years now to manage the WEEL Project as well as to conduct training sessions and counsel the staff of the Women’s Work Department of the PCC.
“Beside my work here it’s wonderful to be embedded in this lively Cameroonian community, to be close to the people, to be embraced by their joy and sorrows, songs and dances, celebrations and laughter.”
But what lead Tabea to help improve the lives of women and their families in Cameroon, so far away from her native Germany?
“More than 10 years ago, without even dreaming of it, I laid the foundation stone of this mission when I completed my BSc (Hons) with the OU. After deeply digging into the theories of gender, development, environmental policy and social psychology, I now (sometimes even literally) dig with the women in the African soil and find myself faced with all the various, diverse, contradictory aspects I had studied – but now in the middle of the field!
“Empowering people, enriching lives, learning and discovering new things and improving living conditions are processes which never end and build bridges between different people and cultures. Out of my personal experience, the OU functions as such a bridge builder, together with the various study centres like the one in Hamburg, my former bridge to the OU.”
Tabea Müller is an OU graduate who studied in Hamburg, Germany. Keen to use her degree in the field, Tabea now works in a development role in Cameroon and writes regularly about her experiences for well-known German weekly newspaper Die Zeit... More than 10 years ago Tabea Müller completed her BSc (Hons) with the OU. After digging into the theories of gender, ...
What's it like to work and study in the Channel Islands? Meet Chloe...
Chloe is the Study Magpie, a young OU student who writes and video blogs about her experiences - why she chose the OU, how she's finding working full time and studying for a degree and what it's like living in the Channel Islands.
She's also thinking about doubling up on courses and talks about the flexibility of OU study; how it suits her lifestyle much better than traditional university which she tried, tested and decided wasn't for her.
But what can the OU improve on? Four course start dates instead of two perhaps? Chloe wants to complete her degree as soon as possible and says the gap between course start dates is slowing her down a little. She also struggles to attend the face-to-face tutorials because of where she lives.
Find out more about Chloe, watch this video:
Chloe is the Study Magpie, a young OU student who writes and video blogs about her experiences - why she chose the OU, how she's finding working full time and studying for a degree and what it's like living in the Channel Islands. She's also thinking about doubling up on courses and talks about the flexibility of OU study; how it suits her lifestyle much better than traditional university ...
University Challenge: three graduates, three different points of view
Three graduates, three very different points of view on whether the OU can genuinely be considered an alternative to the traditional university route...
Adolescents into their 20s: why the OU beats conventional university
The website notgoingtouni.co.uk claims that 37 percent of students felt pressured into going to [conventional] university. Only 37 percent? Nowadays parents, and teenagers, all seem to see university as the be-all and end-all of education, never mind what you actually study. The result is lots of university students who don’t know why they’re there, except to rack up large debts, and a university drop-out rate of approaching one in four. And young people who don’t go to university, for whatever reason, are perceived as having terminally destroyed their future prospects and put themselves on track for a life of menial jobs and low earnings.
I’ve always said University was wasted on me. Like the majority of those collecting A results this week, I headed straight from school into uni because my teachers and my parents expected me to. I suppose the very fact that I was incapable of making my own decision proves they were right. I did need growing-up time and benefitted from the three years at Southampton, learning how to motivate myself, manage my time, challenge received wisdom, construct an argument - as well as how to cook spaghetti bolognaise and co-exist with housemates whose idea of socialising was playing Derek and Clive every 3am. Loudly.
Three graduates, three very different points of view on whether the OU can genuinely be considered an alternative to the traditional university route... Adolescents into their 20s: why the OU beats conventional university The website notgoingtouni.co.uk claims that 37 percent of students felt pressured into going to [conventional] university. Only 37 percent? ...
An interview with Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson
Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. In an interview in 2010 she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, discrimination, her heroes and skiing.
She’s just turned 40 and although she no longer trains to compete at world-class level, Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson certainly has her hands full. While she admits that not having to watch her weight anymore is a huge relief, she’s a huge advocate of the fact that exercise fuels the brain. She still does a lot for sport since retiring in 2008 – with 16 Paralympic medals to her name - but confesses that her biggest challenge yet is being a mum.
“Winning the 100 metres in Athens for me, as an athlete, was the best thing I did. It was probably the closest thing to perfection in terms of any race I did, technically and in terms of my preparation. The trouble with me is I’m never ever happy with what I’ve done, I’m really self critical so for most of my athletics career I didn’t think I’d done enough, and then at the point I didn’t think I could do any more, I retired.
“But, to be honest, having Carys, my daughter, has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Being a mother is way harder than any of the work stuff I do because it changes every day. One day she eats peas, the next day she refuses to eat peas and she’ll sit there and say she’s never eaten peas in her life. We’ll be in a shop and I’ll buy her an outfit she says she likes and then you get home and she won’t wear it. It changes every day.
“I was in Beijing for two months last year and before we went, Carys went into school and told the teacher that I was making her going to the Olympics . We had tickets to the opening ceremony and she asked if there would be fireworks, that’s all she was interested in. But once she was there she loved it.”
Permanent state of chaos
Tanni juggles a lot of commitments and has to manage her diary carefully so she spends enough quality time with her husband Dr Ian Thompson and daughter Carys, seven, at their home in Eaglescliffe. How does she do it?
“We live in permanent state of chaos, and that’s fine. There’s a lot of guilt put onto mothers that you have to be perfect mother who cooks, cleans, washes and can hold down a job. I just think that’s nonsense, it’s about not beating yourself up over things and I don’t feel guilty if I give my daughter cheese on toast for tea, even though my own mother would have thought it was dreadful. It’s about not feeling guilty about the stuff you can’t change.
“I really enjoy my work and do lots of different things and I love it, and that has consequences on my husband and daughter but you try and balance it the best you can.
“When I was little my mum stopped working when my sister was born – she’s two years older than me – and went back to work when I was 19, and the world’s not like that anymore. Very occasionally Carys will ask me why I’m away – usually because she wants something out of me. I’ve learned from right back when she was really little that children are amazing at making you feel guilty.
As well as her charity work, Dame Tanni has been involved in the bidding for and planning of the Olympics in London in 2012 – and she’s very excited about it.
Tall poppy syndrome
“London will do an amazing job, when you look at the bid process the team were really professional and did their homework. There’s a bit of a tall poppy syndrome within UK culture, we do sometimes see the negative. This is the best opportunity in sport to showcase what we do and show the world what we’re good at.”
What about disabled access?
“I joined the board at Transport For London (TFL) last year, and going into it my view was why can’t we make all underground stations accessible? But then you look at putting a lift into a tube station and find out you don’t get much change out of £150 million. A lot of work has gone into making the newer stations accessible, but there are issues about air conditioning on the tubes, line upgrades, platform rebuilds, health and safety, and access is one part of it so it all has to go in the melting pot that is the TFL budget and it’s a hard balancing act.
“Every single London bus is wheelchair accessible, every taxi is, so we’re starting off at a much stronger point than any other Olympic or Paralympic city has for quite a while and, for me, the key is educating people. Not a lot of people will know this but there’s a really cool underground map which shows the accessible stations, so the ones I can’t use are in pale grey so they don’t cloud my view of where I can travel. So for me the key is education and we’ll have amazingly well trained volunteers at Games times to help people get to where they want to go. Education is key.
“2012 can be a platform to try and make London more accessible in a wider sense to everyone - mums with prams, wheelchairs, blind people.”
Discrimination
Dame Tanni has no problem getting around but says disabled people do suffer discrimination and things like access to higher education are more challenging.
“The reality for disabled people is that education is harder. So whether they miss school time because of illness or they’re in hospital of if they’ve missed things because of their impairment, I sometimes think that higher education isn’t seen as an option.
“When I was in school I’d just sat my O Levels and the careers teacher told me he could get me a nice job answering phones. I said I wanted to go to uni and he basically said ‘Don’t be so silly, what do you want a degree for, it’ll be difficult and won’t help you because you’ll probably end up answering phones anyway.’”
As it turned out my first job was working for British Athletics and part of my job was in fact answering phones, and I really enjoyed it. But lots of people look at impairment and it starts off as inherently negative and if someone tells you that you can’t do something then it’s very easy to believe that. The beauty of the OU is that people come back when they feel they’re ready to but they also have the flexibility, which makes a real difference.”
So, if Dame Tanni could study an OU course, what would it be?
“Law, I always wanted to do law. I went to Loughborough University, which didn’t offer law so I did politics. It was something I was interested in and actually it’s been incredibly useful. I always thought there wasn’t politics in sport and then you get involved and realise there’s loads.”
Self belief
And what about trying a new sport, what she go for?
“Skiing, but I hate the cold and the wet and being out and going downhill doesn’t appeal to me. I like the concept of skiing and saying that I will ski one day, but I don’t think Ill ever actually go skiing.”
Dame Tanni is an inspiration in her own right, but who does she admire?
“I was at the Young Sport conference, to look at what you can do beyond sport to help people, and Desmond Tutu was there and he was just so cool. His charisma and his personality and the way he talked about Africa was just incredible, so I’m a huge fan of his.
“My mum, who has passed away now, was stroppy and stubborn but just an amazingly strong person to have around, she was really cool. We used to argue a lot but she brought me up to have a lot of self belief.
“And Gareth Edwards. I was brought up by mother to believe that he is the closest thing to perfection that will ever walk this earth and it was the way he played, he knew he was good but he wasn’t arrogant and you listen to some of his stories and he was a really cool bloke. I still get awe struck when ever I meet him.”
Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. In an interview in 2010 she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, ...
Footballer scores a first class law degree
Sheffield Wednesday footballer Richard Hinds has achieved a first class honours degree in Law from the OU.
The League One defender has juggled his studies alongside the demands of full-time football and also while battling back to fitness after a badly broken left leg.
More recently Richard became a dad for the first time - and daughter Abigail’s arrival coincided exactly with him sitting his final OU exams!
Although often finding his days off and spare time eaten up by study commitments, he remains an advocate of the notion that it is better to prepare for a future away from football while you are still in it.
"Football’s really a very short career and it can end at any moment. It might be a bit of a cliche, but it really struck home when I broke my leg a couple of years ago," he says.
"At the time I’d already started my Law degree and to be honest it just cemented my view that you should retrain for the future while you’re still playing.
"If I’d had to finish playing at that time I’d have been two or three years off finishing the course and that would’ve been time wasted in terms of not being qualified, having no job and having no income coming in."
With the Professional Footballers' Association keen to encourage more current players to re-train for the future, the OU is becoming a popular route for many due to the flexibility of their programmes.
"The OU offers lads who are playing the opportunity to go out and get a degree while to a certain extent allowing you to work at your own pace," adds Richard.
"They were great with me, to be honest, and the level of support and quality of online support they’ve provided has been different class. It’s just a case of building on that good work now and looking at the next phase which will be a Legal Practice course."
Ever wondered which sporting stars have studied with the OU? Well...
- Jillie Cooper, badminton
- Footballer Craig Brown, Rangers, Dundee, Falkirk and former Scotland Manager
- Dave Sexton, West Ham, and former manager of Chelsea and Manchester United
- Vikram Solanki, Worcestershire and England cricketer
- Mark Mayerhofler, former All Black and rugby union player
- Fabrice Muamba, Arsenal, Birmingham and Bolton Wanderers footballer
- Jason de Vos, Canada and Ipswich Town footballer
- Derek Stillie, Dundee United (and others) goalkeeper, also did an OU Law degree
- Michelle Sole, downhill skier
- Katie O'Brien, tennis player
- Footballer Espen Baardsen, Watford, Tottenham Hotspur, Norway. (Got a BA Hons in Social Sciences with Economics in 2003)
- Rugby player Tyrone Howe (rugby)
- Racing driver Damon Hill
- Footballer John Curtis, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers
Sheffield Wednesday footballer Richard Hinds has achieved a first class honours degree in Law from the OU. The League One defender has juggled his studies alongside the demands of full-time football and also while battling back to fitness after a badly broken left leg. More recently Richard became a dad for the first time - and daughter Abigail’s ...
Winner of Cyber Security Challenge announced
Dan Summers beat 25 other finalists during the final task which was a simulated corporate security scenario devised by Hewlett Packard and security company Cassidian.
The trial for Dan was to develop security policies and advise decision-makers on training requirements, while protecting the company's network from a barrage of cyber attacks.
“This was the most intense and rewarding experience of my life,” he said. “I'm just so glad I did this. I'll be looking closely at all the opportunities that have developed as a result of my involvement with the challenge.”
Dan was awarded a range of prizes worth more than £37,000, including an Open University course, and received his award from Minister of State for Security and Counter Terrorism Pauline Neville-Jones (pictured).
The Cyber Security Challenge UK was designed by leading security, education and government organisations in response to the worrying shortage of skilled professionals in the cyber security sector.
Read more about the event at Computer Weekly.com
Useful links
A postman from Wakefield has been named as the winner of the inaugural Cyber Security Challenge, the UK competition to discover the best of amateur computer security talent. Dan Summers beat 25 other finalists during the final task which was a simulated corporate security scenario devised by Hewlett Packard and security company Cassidian. The trial for Dan was to develop ...
I'm a nervous first-time student, get me out of here?
For brand-new OU student Michele, the wait to start her first course with the OU is an anxious, angst-filled one. Here she reveals her motivation to study, her many worries and why she withdrew from the same course before it had even started in 2010…
I have yearned for a degree qualification for a long time, especially as I had to withdraw from a modern languages degree in my early twenties due to ill health. Despite completing two years of study, I was too ill to continue and was forced to abandon my course. It is a decision I have lamented ever since and one that has saddled me with the pressing weight of failure.
Twenty years later, at 42, having survived and fought my illness, I am finally returning to higher education. Of course, the world of education has evolved considerably since the 1980s with the advancement of technology and, as a self-confessed technophobe, the prospect of learning in a virtual environment imbues me with mounting dread.
I will be studying intermediate Spanish, En Rumbo (L140) during my first year with the OU. This module cannot be counted towards my credit award for previous university study but I have taken the decision to study it for revision purposes and am reconciled to studying for five years instead of four to attain my degree.
In truth, it is the second time I have registered for this module – my escalating anxiety surrounding the computer component eventually defeated me and I submitted my withdrawal a few weeks before its commencement in 2010.
Doubts
I also doubted my ability to learn Spanish again, given that 20 years had elapsed since first studying it. Determined not to relinquish my dream, I decided to revise my Spanish throughout the ensuing year and to improve my computer skills so that I could register for the same module in 2011. I undertook a long-distance learning course in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, as this study programme advocated a gentler pace thereby boosting my confidence and improving my computer use .
Despite having the luxury of another year to prepare and revise, my confidence remains frighteningly low. With the arrival of materials in the post and information pertaining to the course populating my inbox, I feel horribly overwhelmed. I have come frighteningly close to withdrawing again.
One aspect that does stand me in good stead is that I have discussed my fears with a lovely, empathic lady from the OU’s Learner Support team in Bristol. I confided my fears regarding the computer aspect and trusted her enough to speak of more personal issues relating to my health, which could be exacerbated by the demands of studying. Her response was very helpful and insightful and I felt fully supported. Knowing that there is somebody who is aware of my anxieties and who I can talk to at any time is a hugely motivating force at this very vulnerable time. I am aware that this information has also been relayed to my tutor in the strictest confidence, which is also reassuring. To know that I am not travelling alone on this journey is tremendously comforting and is the most prevailing factor in keeping me motivated and strong. As someone who is reticent to ask for help, I realise the imperativeness of doing so and hope I can when occasions demand it.
My experience of the OU since registration has been exceptionally good. Staff have received my enquiries with enthusiasm, warmth, politeness and attentiveness. The whole process has been very efficient and professional. I have benefitted from perusing the OU website but, at times, felt overwhelmed by the comprehensiveness of the site. Given my lack of confidence in computing, I have spent many hours attempting to digest information regarding the requisite skills in this area and often felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of instruction and information, resulting in moments of quiet despair and defeat. Instead of allaying my fears it served only to add to them and forced me to question my ability even closer. I am aware that there is a computing helpdesk but confess to worrying that I won’t be able to follow their instruction and am evading such humiliation. Fortunately, my children are all computer literate and have patiently guided me.
Anxious
I know that many people are exhilarated on receiving their course materials and are anxious to devour the contents. My fear impeded me from opening them until several weeks after their arrival. In procrastinating, I did not have to confront my fears. It felt as if the box contained not only my study materials but also my many anxieties and, by keeping the lid firmly shut, I did not have to confront them. Opening the box was not the ominous experience I had anticipated, though, and I enjoyed browsing the material.
Another source of anxiety emanated from receiving my tutorial schedule. Viewing it on StudentHome filled me with dread, especially given that the first face-to-face tutorial was only weeks away. Seeing the long list of tutorials awakened me to the reality of studying for my degree and I felt overwhelming and unabating panic. In the days leading up to the launch of the module website, I have felt a little overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information. The unannounced growing information on StudentHome, such as the cut off dates for the TMAs and the sudden emails populating my inbox, has taken me by surprise. I enjoyed reading the email from my tutor introducing herself but was surprised to learn at this premature stage that it was in Spanish. Immediately, I fretted that my reply should be in the language but was terrifed my tutor would deem it not proficient enough and I would be asked to leave the course! Since receiving it, I have been submerged under waves of undulating anxiety, repeatedly questioning my abiilty in the language and the computer as well as struggling with doubts that my fellow students will like me and wondering whether my tutor will be personable and patient!
And finally, as a single mother of three teenagers I am also anxious that I will not be able to juggle my daily responsibilities as a mother in conjunction with studying. I am also penning a book of utmost importance to me and fret that there will not be sufficient time to manage these demands every day.
As I am sure is now evident, my apprehension as I anticipate the start of my module is tremendous. However, I also wish to convey that superseding that terror is deep excitement as I contemplate the challenges of higher education again.
I wish all new students a successful start to their modules and an exhilarating, rewarding journey.
Useful links
For brand-new OU student Michele, the wait to start her first course with the OU is an anxious, angst-filled one. Here she reveals her motivation to study, her many worries and why she withdrew from the same course before it had even started in 2010… My name is Michele Jowett and I am about to embark on an exhilarating yet terrifying adventure: studying for an open ...
Actress Romola Garai graduates from the OU
Platform chats to actress Romola Garai after graduating from The Open University with a degree in English literature at The Barbican, London in 2010…
Romola´s first acting role was in The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) and she went on to film Nicholas Nickleby (2002) and Vanity Fair (2004) with Reese Witherspoon, Atonement (2007) with Keira Knightley and the TV mini-series Emma in 2009.
How do you feel about graduating?
It was a great feeling, graduating. I feel honoured as I’ve had such a fantastic experience with the OU, so it was nice to give the staff and academics a round of applause to thank them for helping me.
How would you compare your time with a traditional university over your time with the OU?
I left school and went to Queen Mary, University of London, for a year and started working full time as an actor so had to stop studies. But I really didn’t want to not have a degree; I really enjoyed my studies and the discipline of working towards an academic qualification. That I was able to complete my degree with the OU was fantastic.
I had a great experience at Queen Mary but had great time with the OU as well, especially the fact I was able to work and live my life and study around that. My job is very stop-and-start so it was lovely way to progress, studying gave a real structure to my life.
When I wasn’t working it wasn’t easy but much more manageable. I did a year with the Royal Shakespeare Company and had one-and-a-half hours off so I read Middlemarch and did essays in that time. When filming it’s difficult and my grades plummeted because I didn’t have time, so I was up at 6am trying to make notes. That was difficult but I managed it and enjoyed it.
Will your degree help your career?
Study has been useful to my career, yes, and I think it’s important for anyone in the arts, whether actor, painter etc to have an appreciation of literature, and it gave me a great deal of joy and pleasure and being better equipped to read and understand literature. Although it will help my career, I probably did my degree more for my own pleasure.
Would you consider more study with the OU?
I do feel the lack of study now, and I would absolutely consider doing an MA; not to start right away as it was hard work and I’ve enjoyed having a year out but I would consider doing more. I’m a crazy supporter of the OU and I’m constantly telling everyone I meet to do OU degrees so I will continue to do that.
What would your advice to new students be?
Watch Romola´s video response in which she gives a useful snippet of advice to new OU students:
Platform chats to actress Romola Garai after graduating from The Open University with a degree in English literature at The Barbican, London in 2010… Romola´s first acting role was in The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) and she went on to film Nicholas Nickleby (2002) and Vanity Fair (2004) with Reese Witherspoon, Atonement (2007) with Keira Knightley and ...
Juggling studying and parenthood...
Having become a mum at 16 Hayley knew college and university weren’t really an option for her. But, watching her own mum complete a degree while she raised a child, Hayley decided The Open University was a route she had to explore…
There’s no denying that children and studying do not go together very well. In fact, the two in the same room can have disastrous consequences, literally in some cases! But I knew that if I wanted to get the qualifications I desired and in subjects I enjoyed that somehow I was going to have to find a way.
Being a single parent, the thought of completing an Open University course seemed nigh on impossible. But guess what, I’ve done it! In fact, so far I have completed three - Y156, Y163 and T189. And in October this year I will be starting the first courses for my Youth Studies Degree.
So, those thoughts of “this is impossible” were proven wrong. I’m not saying it was as simple as that though, of course not; children, after all, take up every second of every day. These little people who take over our hearts and our lives are quite often not very willing to share mummy.
When I first started studying I tried the “studying at the same time as the child being awake technique” – it lasted near enough 10 minutes maybe? The toddler had wandered over with his big purple crayon and put a line straight across the page I’d just written!
Toddlers, if you’re lucky, may have a daytime nap, mine didn’t, and so if they do then make the most of it! This is precious time whilst you are still in some form of reasonable state, which you must use wisely. Read that chapter that needs reading whilst drinking that well earned cup of tea!
If you’re anything like me you may also struggle juggling parenthood with studying if you are the kind of person that works well during the daytime and needs to study in set blocks. Needless to say that really IS almost impossible when you have a toddler! Suddenly it is required that all your studying takes place during the dark hours, the hours that you would usually spend slobbing around in front of the television and relaxing with a nice glass of wine and maybe a takeaway if you’re feeling lucky! If you’re going to complete your course though then something is going to have to give.
So here are my top 10 tips on making the most of your time and fitting studying in around being a mum.
1.Have your books to hand
Whilst drinking that cup of tea mid morning and little one is playing contentedly on the carpet, have your latest book/reading material to hand and read through it. You may not be able to make notes at this time but at least you’re taking in what it says.
2. While the dinner´s cooking...
When you’re waiting for the dinner to cook, have your books nearby so you can glance at them and read parts that you need to. Also, I found it a very good time to brainstorm and plan assignments as my mind was motivated and on the go anyway.
3. Make the most of their nap time
If little one still has a nap, make a point of at least twice a week using this time as set study time. It may only be half an hour but in that time you may have managed to type up 500 words of your latest assignment. That’s 500 words less that you can worry about when they wake up.
4. Take time out
Don’t study so much that you feel it’s taking over your life. Let yourself have a day off, or allow yourself to finish studying early so you can watch that TV programme you like. Don’t be your own worst enemy, I’ve done it and it’s not fun!
5. Ask for help
Like they say to new mums, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Whether it’s a babysitting exchange which may mean that at some point you have your friend’s little one, if it means you can grab a couple of hours to study is it really such a price to pay? If you have family nearby ask them if they wouldn’t mind babysitting, chances are they will jump at it, and if they know you’re studying they will be even more pleased.
6. Talk to your tutor
If you’re struggling then speak to your tutor. They are there to help and may be able to offer advice. If you have a deadline you don’t think you’re going to meet then ASK for an extension and explain why you need one. They aren’t mind readers and they can’t give you one if you don’t ask, what’s the worst they can do? Say no, even then at least you tried!
7. Talk to other students
Contact other students through Firstclass, there are also often groups on Facebook, Twitter etc of fellow students on the same course as you. Fellow students are a great source of support as they know exactly how tough the latest assignment is and can sympathis. They may also be able to offer hints and tips on how they’ve managed to understand the latest topic.
8. Use your local library
If you need to visit your local library don’t be afraid to take your little one along with you, it can turn out to be a fun morning/afternoon out for you both. Visit the children’s section first so that whilst you are looking for what you need the little one has something they can look at. Don’t forget libraries do books for babies upwards, no child is too young for books.
9. Plan ahead
Plan your assignments and studying. Buy yourself a diary/calendar and mark on there when you are going to try and fit in some study and most importantly mark on when your next assignment is due and what it is. Keep an eye on that date as it will quickly come around.
10. Make them proud
Last of all try not to lose sight of why you are doing your course. We all have different reasons for studying with the Open University but just remember that you are also going to be inspiring your children and showing them how talented and self disciplined you can be, and this will make them proud one day.
Being a mum and studying is hard work, there’s no denying that. But just remember that there are other mums out there doing it and websites such as netmums are full of other parents who are studying with the Open University and who can offer advice and a friendly ear. Don’t suffer in silence, if you do you’re more likely to give up. The support is there, no matter how lonely you may feel; sometimes it’s just about looking and asking around.
- Read Hayley´s personal blog, simplyhayley.co.uk
Having become a mum at 16 Hayley knew college and university weren’t really an option for her. But, watching her own mum complete a degree while she raised a child, Hayley decided The Open University was a route she had to explore… There’s no denying that children and studying do not go together very well. In fact, the two in the same room can have ...
Student Carys is on the 'write' path...
Carys Bray graduated from The Open University with a degree in Literature after three years of study and while raising four children. Now she’s putting her study to good use – she’s been named this year’s MA Creative Writing winner in the Edge Hill University Short Story Prize 2010 and is currently talking to agents…
After the hard slog of an OU degree course, Carys enjoyed the creative writing element so much she wanted to continue the learning process, with one eye on a career in teaching, so is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University in Lancashire.
“I enjoyed the creative writing parts of the Open University BA so much that I didn´t want it to end so I accepted a place at Edge Hill because of the theoretical component of the course. I was beginning to think about teaching and I knew that the Edge Hill course examined writers´ poetics - their writings about writing - something which it seemed important to understand if I was hoping to teach writing one day. Additionally, the Edge Hill staff reminded me of the Open University staff, they were friendly and approachable and while I was slightly intimidated by the idea of post-graduate study, I wasn´t at all intimidated by the people who were there to guide me through it.”
And she’s clearly breezing through the MA, having just been named winner of the MA Creative Writing section in the Edge Hill University Short Story Competition 2010. Carys, 34, from Southport, won with her short story Just In Case.
“I was very excited to find out that I´d won. When I received the phone call I tried to sound calm and sensible, but I did have a bit of a dance around the kitchen during the conversation,” she says.
“I got my idea for the story from a blog about a man who found a suitcase in his mother´s loft after she passed away. There was a baby´s skeleton in the suitcase. The blogger referred to it as a ´baby skeleton´ as if it might grow up into an ´adult skeleton.´ I wrote down my idea for the ´Just in Case´ story straight away. Other stories develop out of funny things that people say, odd thoughts I have or things that my children do.”
I gave up television
After a decade of part-time work and consumed with motherhood, Carys wasn’t too confident about returning to study and started with the 10-point ´start writing fiction´ course. But she enjoyed it so much she decided to pursue a degree in Literature and was chuffed to discover she could study creative writing as part of it, graduating in 2009.
“I really enjoyed studying with the OU. I had very supportive tutors on every course and I very much wanted a degree. It was important to me to prove that I could achieve it, so I worked hard and made it a priority.
“Apart from some flexible and sporadic work for my husband, I wasn´t working during my studies with the OU. My four children were between the ages of eight and two in 2006 so they required regular attention but my life was my own every evening after 7pm when the children went to bed.
“I gave up television. I learned to cook the dinner while holding a book, which was actually easier than cooking the dinner while holding a child! I stopped caring if the house was a bit untidy. I ignored finger prints on the glass doors. On Saturday nights I made my husband watch OU DVDs and in September 2008 my youngest child started school and that meant I had a significant amount of extra study time.”
PhD or write a novel?
Carys’ hard work paid off as she achieved grade one passes for all her assignments. What’s her secret?
“It´s something I´m very proud of. I regretted not doing my degree when I was 18. I think the force of that regret ensured that I took study with the OU seriously. There wasn´t really a secret to it as such, it just became a priority for me and I always did my best.”
What’s next for Carys is the end of her MA course and the prospect of a publishing deal should agents fall in love with her short stories. Beyond that, she has to choose between a PhD or writing a novel but would one day like to teach for The Open University.
“I´m currently completing my collection of short stories. As a result of winning the prize I´ve had some agents read my work. I´ve had positive feedback and promises to read a novel should I write one; it´s difficult to be successful with short stories because they aren´t commercially attractive to publishers.
“After I hand in my MA manuscript I´ll send each of the stories off and hopefully some of them will be published. Then I´ll have to decide if I´m going to forge ahead with a PhD proposal or begin a novel.
“Eventually, I would like to teach for the Open University. I think of myself four years ago, a harried mum embarking on a 10 point writing course, and I feel immeasurably grateful to the OU for introducing me to the pleasure of writing. It would be fabulous to be a part of providing new OU students with the same life-changing experience.”
Update to Carys' story (December 2012) - find out what she's up to and about her debut collection of short stories.
Useful links
- Read Carys’ blog
- More about Carys’ Short Story Award
- Study with the OU – BA in Literature
- Study with the OU – Start writing fiction
- Study with the OU – Creative writing
- Study with the OU – Advanced creative writing
Carys Bray graduated from The Open University with a degree in Literature after three years of study and while raising four children. Now she’s putting her study to good use – she’s been named this year’s MA Creative Writing winner in the Edge Hill University Short Story Prize 2010 and is currently talking to agents… After the hard slog of an ...
How did you do yours? Stories from the Derby degree ceremony
In 2010 the OU hosted 26 degree ceremonies across the UK, Northern Ireland and in Versaille, France. It´s a special occasion and the reward for years of hard work and study. Here, some of the graduates at the degree ceremony held in Derby in May 2010, share their thoughts on OU study...
Andy did his study on a ship... (read more about Andy and his OU studies here)
Two degrees, 60 years apart...
How to juggle study and life in general...
In 2010 the OU hosted 26 degree ceremonies across the UK, Northern Ireland and in Versaille, France. It´s a special occasion and the reward for years of hard work and study. Here, some of the graduates at the degree ceremony held in Derby in May 2010, share their thoughts on OU study... Andy did his study on a ship... (read more about Andy and his OU studies ...
GB badminton player still finds time for OU study
Jillie Cooper, 21, is training with the Great Britain Badminton Squad with high hopes of competing in the Olympics in London 2012. She’s also an OU student...
How did you get a place in the GB badminton squad?
The GB badminton squad was set up in 2007 with different levels of entry. There is the podium group, international player and talent pool. Currently I am sitting on international player. I got on the programme when it first started and I managed this because I had met the set criteria for my specific age. I did this by gaining certain level of results in specific tournaments. The more I progress and the older I get, the harder the criteria gets.
You’re 21, playing badminton at international level and also studying for a degree. How do you fit it all in?
I have to be well organised and plan ahead with my schedule. It is difficult at times but I always make time to see my best friends and family. I do have a social life, sometimes it’s not as often as I would like and is definitely not as regular as most normal 21-year-olds but that’s just the way it is and I suppose I have become used to it.
I have become used to missing big events because of my sport and because I have done it for so long I guess it’s just normally now. For example, I spent my 21st birthday in China representing Scotland at the world team championships. At the time it was difficult not being with my friends and family on the big day but at the same time the badminton team is also like my family and to represent my country on my 21st birthday was an honour. I also enjoy my studies and I know that badminton will not last forever so it’s important to have something to fall back on when it does all come to an end.
How important is it to make social time in between your sporting and studying commitments?
Very important. At times you can get bogged down in all of it and although I am focussed and dedicated to my sport I do think it’s very important to be able to have some free time and relax with friends and family. When I am with them I can fully switch off and be free from badminton and studying for that period. For me to perform at my best I need to be relaxed and chilled and I do this by spending time with my friends, otherwise you can just get wrapped up in it all and not switch off which I find hampers my performance.
What’s the best and worst thing about studying with the OU?
The best thing is that I can fit it in around my sport, without a doubt, and study when and where I want with all the materials. I wouldn’t be able to study if it wasn´t for the OU, or it would mean not being able to train full time at the national centre. My tutors have always been very flexible and understanding because if I have a heavy competition period whereby I haven´t been able to study much and will struggle to get an assignment in, they have always granted me an extension. For this alone I am extremely grateful. The worst thing is that I would like to attend lectures and meet my fellow students in person but then again I understand you can´t have everything so I am grateful to be able to play my sport full time while also gaining a degree.
Are the things you’re learning through OU study helping with your badminton?
Yeah, definitely. I have just finished a topic on communication within the workplace and I have found it very useful. I can relate a lot to the topics I have studied but I suppose they are just a bit more in depth in certain areas.
There are other OU students also competing at international level. Do you know them? Do you share study tips?
Yeah, there are three other badminton players on the GB programme who are also studying with the OU. They are all also Scottish and are my team mates so yes I know them very well. We don´t share study tips as we all just do it in our spare time. Being athletes we have to be quite organised with our life anyway so we all have no problem in fitting it in even though sometimes we do find ourselves leaving it to the last minute!
How easy is it for people to get into badminton?
Very easy. Badminton is a sport that most people will play growing up but it is mainly played at club level and not many people know that you can play the sport professionally. By contacting their National Governing body they will be able to provide a list of clubs which will be in their area. Most local leisure centres also offer badminton coaching groups.
Would you recommend sport as a way to stay fit? What are the added benefits?
Of course anything that raises your heart rate will help keep you get fit and sport certainly does that! There is a very big social aspect and I have met a lot of my best friends through playing badminton. As a junior I think this is why I liked badminton so much as I was always travelling up and down the country with a group of people the same age. Now, as an international player, I have travelled the world and been to places I would never have gone to if I had not played badminton.
What are your plans for two years time, fives years time, 10 years time and 20 years time?
In two years I will hopefully have competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games for Scotland and be on team GB for 2012. In five years I am hoping to win a Commonwealth Games medal in Glasgow and hopefully be a well established world class player with aspirations of medalling in the 2016 Olympics. I also hope to have gained my degree by this time. In 10 years time I might still be playing but I suppose it all depends on how my body holds up and how my career results have been to that date. Hopefully I’ll be be engaged too! In 20 years… I don´t really want to think that far ahead as I will be 41! But I guess I will definitely be in the real world working, hopefully working in the sporting sector or business in a job that takes me places around the world. I am so used to travelling I think I would get bored staying in the same place all the time. I would also hope to be settled with a family.
Jillie Cooper, 21, is training with the Great Britain Badminton Squad with high hopes of competing in the Olympics in London 2012. She’s also an OU student... How did you get a place in the GB badminton squad? The GB badminton squad was set up in 2007 with different levels of entry. There is the podium group, international player and talent pool. Currently I am ...
On police business
Frank Whiteley, Chief Constable of Hertfordshire, has managed responses to the Buncefield explosion, mass floodings and a nationwide fuel crisis. So why did he feel the need to study for an MBA?
Open University Business School MBA graduate Frank Whiteley (pictured) believes his role as Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Police is little different from that of a chief executive in any other organisation.
This is in spite of playing a key part in the emergency response to the Buncefield oil depot explosion in 2005, and being Operational Commander at the burial of Princess Diana, and during the 1999 Easter floods and 2000 fuel crisis.
“There is nothing unique about what I do,” he said. “All chief executives face very similar problems, whether they are in the health service, civil service or private sector. In any sector you need an understanding of the theory of what makes people and organisations successful and you need knowledge that is particular to your sector.”
Frank, who has been a police officer for more than 30 years, embarked on the MBA programme with the OU to gain a wider view of how organisations work as a whole. In addition to dealing with the operational side of policing, he found himself having more contact with other functions such as HR and finance.
“I am in a senior management position and the course had to be highly relevant to my day-to-day work. There are senior police officers with MBAs, although there are more with postgraduate degrees relating to criminal justice.
“In addition to the MBA, I have my first degree from Cambridge University (Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic studies), a Diploma in Applied Criminology, also at Cambridge University, and other professional qualifications. So within the mix you get experience of the operational, the academic and the managerial aspects of the job.”
Frank says he also chose the OU because it fitted in around his job and bringing up three young children.
“The OU has a good reputation and I found it lives up to its name. The programme was time-consuming, taking up to 10 hours a week, but it was well worth it.
“In any business there are things that are generic across sectors. I run a business with a £200-million-plus turnover and 4,000-plus staff, and it is not surprising many police leaders have postgraduate degrees to do this. The MBA informs my overall thinking. I use it to approach all sorts of problems. It gives me the background knowledge. Any number of models can be applied during the course of a year.
“I found the MBA programme very stimulating, particularly around problem solving. Creative management, which deals with different organisations bringing innovation into their business, was also very interesting.”
Frank, however, believes that a qualification doesn’t necessarily mean that someone can do a job well.
“It is about knowledge, experience and capability. Qualifications are a route to assisting in achieving that. However, I think the more senior you become the more important it is that you have a formal, academic input into running a business and having an understanding of what drives criminal activity.
“Gaining the MBA was not the sole reason for me being offered the job as Chief Constable. However, it’s part of the whole package. Hopefully it shapes the way I do my business and influences how people see my work.”
Useful links
Frank Whiteley, Chief Constable of Hertfordshire, has managed responses to the Buncefield explosion, mass floodings and a nationwide fuel crisis. So why did he feel the need to study for an MBA? Open University Business School MBA graduate Frank Whiteley (pictured) believes his role as Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Police is little different from that of a chief ...
Singing from the same song sheet
Opera singer Lesley Garrett knows all about striving to achieve your goals and dusting yourself down when you stumble to get there. That’s why she was delighted to accept an honorary degree from The Open University – and feels she’s singing from the same song sheet as the OU when it comes to ideals.
Her parents, a huge inspiration in her life, started their working life on the railways of South Yorkshire and Lesley’s father decided that he wanted to be a teacher. Without any O Levels, he studied in his signal box (something that will resonate with any OU student), got a grant and went to teacher training college – a very risky strategy with a wife and three young daughters. His determination paid off, however, when he became a headmaster in just five years.
Lesley’s mum, following in her husband’s footsteps, became head of music in a middle school and her parents’ determination to improve themselves against the odds made a deep and lasting impression on her.
“No one in our family had done that, no one had ever been to college. I saw first-hand what education can do and if the OU had existed when my dad had been doing this, he would have been into it in a minute. In fact, my dad and my step-mum are both doing OU courses now – astronomy and French.”
The example set by her parents made Lesley very aware of what you can do if you put your mind to it and study hard. “I thought if my dad can become a headmaster why can’t I become an opera singer – because I have always been passionate about opera.
Premonition
“I didn’t decide to become a singer, I always was a singer; it’s what I am, it’s who I am, it’s the fabric that I’m made of. There was no way of denying it – I just had to recognise it. I was doing A Levels at school and my aunty took me to London and I saw Madame Butterfly at the ENO. It was almost a premonition. I thought ‘I have to do this and I have to do this on that stage. I had to go home and tell my school.’
“We had no money really, to go and see opera. All the opera music I knew we sang around the piano in South Yorkshire – this is where I consider myself to be privileged, in addition to the wonderful example set by my parents, – as the area was profoundly musical. There were choirs, brass bands and musical societies in every corner of every street. Everybody was involved in music in some way or another. You ate, you breathed and you made music.
“However, my parents were very sceptical, because we all did it. They wondered ‘how is she going to make a living out of it?’ My grandad’s the eldest of a family of miners and became a concert pianist – but that’s a whole other story - but I knew this is what I had to do.
“My school was brilliant and re-wrote the entire sixth form timetable so I could do a music A Level in a year. I did and I passed, and I got into the Royal Academy of Music and that was it, I was off on my journey. Again the power of education – the accessibility and the fact my school supported me – enabled me to get here now. I’m not sure that would happen now.
“But it can do through the OU. That’s why I was absolutely delighted when I was offered my honorary degree. I am offered degrees, but there’s only two I have accepted – the OU’s and Sheffield University because my Dad was a headmaster in Sheffield and my nephew got his degree in English from Sheffield so there’s a real family link.
Dream
“I am really proud of my OU honorary degree. I accepted it in a way because I felt my history was so representative of what the OU stands for – access to education and the idea that if you have a dream you can fulfil it if you get the right information and have the right guidance.”
Lesley lost her voice and had to battle hard to get it back – another testament to her determination to achieve her ambitions. “My body had gone. I was very physically and emotionally ill, as my marriage had broken down. I felt very unbalanced. I actually threw myself at the mercy of the Musicians Benevolent Fund and saw their doctor. It was his suggestion that I should try the Alexander technique and it enabled me to regain my balance. I had this conviction that if I could find physical balance I would find mental balance and emotional balance.
“Thanks to my singing teacher, Joy Mammer – who was my professor from the Royal Academy of Music and is my dearest, dearest friend 30 years on – I clawed my way back. I went to her house and I did her cleaning as payment for lessons. I had only two notes. She very gently, over a period of nearly a year, stretched my voice to its normal range. The experience had a profound effect because I never took for granted again that my voice would always be there. I also realised how incredibly important my body is in terms of my singing. It’s an athletic pursuit. If I’m not physically, mentally and emotionally fit I can’t do it. Whatever happens to me as a human being happens to my voice. But I was determined and I had no choice. I was a singer – I had to get back on form.
“God sent me a very strange job – just as I was recovering the Welsh National Opera asked me if I would play the role of Esmeralda (the tightrope walker) in The Bartered Bride. The director believed in total realism and would only work with a soprano who was prepared to learn to walk a tightrope, normally done by a double. So I said, ‘yes! - I’m not doing anything. Bring it on!’ So I learned to walk the tightrope. It supported my need to find my centre of balance and I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. And I loved it. In fact they invited me to join the circus! I could have had a whole different career!”
Lesley will be touring in the UK this coming autumn with the Manchester Camerata and English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Philip Ellis. See her website for details.
Opera singer Lesley Garrett knows all about striving to achieve your goals and dusting yourself down when you stumble to get there. That’s why she was delighted to accept an honorary degree from The Open University – and feels she’s singing from the same song sheet as the OU when it comes to ideals. Her parents, a huge inspiration in her life, started their ...
20 minutes with Cherie Blair
Platform’s Robyn Slingsby speaks to Cherie Blair, an OU honorary graduate, about the importance of higher education, juggling commitments, her passion for human rights and how life begins at 40.
The Open University is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. What do you think the future holds for the OU?
You know what they say, that life begins at 40! I think there’s a huge demand for higher education and given the costs of getting a degree from a traditional university I think the OU has got a great future ahead of it because it provides the flexibility for people to fit their desire for higher education around their need to make a living.
You are no stranger to juggling commitments, being a barrister, charity campaigner, after dinner speak and the mother of four children. Many OU students study while bringing up families and working full time in stressful jobs. Do you have any advice for them?
I don’t think OU students need any advice from me. I was involved in some of the OU’s original law courses and gave out degrees to some of the first graduates and I heard accounts of what they had to do and some of the excuses they has as to why assignments weren’t handed in on time, including a pilot in the Gulf who couldn’t file essay on time and model on a photo shoot. OU students epitomise what is meant by work-life balance, trying to do a job, keep a normal family life and improve themselves at the same time. I take my hat off to all of them. When I was a young lawyer I taught at what’s now the University of Westminster. I was doing my bar final myself but my students were all holding down a full time job and I always felt humbled by what they were doing and they inspired me to work hard myself. Studying is a real discipline and quite a lonely thing, working on your own. It’s something I’m quite familiar with as self employed barrister. We live in 24 hour world and it’s how we divide those hours between our commitments.
How important do you think education is, particularly in the current economic climate when people are perhaps less inclined to invest in courses and qualifications. Is it a good time to upskill?
Absolutely, in a time of economic turmoil, it’s always challenge but it’s an opportunity too, an opportunity to think about what direction we want to take and if we can do something to upskill. I think in the 21st century we can’t compete with the likes of China etc on cheaper labour, we have to compete on a smarter, more imaginative, more adaptive level.
In an interview with the BBC you claimed your husband Tony Blair won a place in Chambers over you because he’s a man. Do you still think women have it harder in the workplace, competing with men for the top jobs?
It’s true that my pupil master said to me, as did others at that time, that I was the only woman and was therefore at a disadvantage and that was the way of the world then, but I don’t think it’s like that now. It’s harder for women when they start having families but you can’t see having children as purely a woman’s issue, it’s also an issue for men as they are part of family life and they want to be involved in their children’s lives too. As women we have a challenge in the workplace but men can find it difficult too as it can be seen as strange for them to be the one bringing up a family. As much as we want acceptance in the workplace, we need to accept men in the home too.
Much of your work has been protecting human rights and liberties. How important is this to you and do you feel freer to speak out in public now Tony Blair is no longer Prime Minister and involved in humans rights legislation?
From early age I felt very strongly about justice and equality. At 16 I joined the Labour Party, at 18 I joined the LSE as it had courses on civil rights and employment and that’s the area I chose to practice in. I am lucky to have more international viewpoint on this which is a privilege having spent 10 years at Number 10. My book is called Speaking for Myself, as for 13 years Tony was leader of the Labour Party and everything was subjugated to the desire that the Labour message got over and my personal views and opinions were irrelevant in that. It’s now possible to take up issues I’m interested in without everyone thinking it’s government policy and, for me, that’s a liberation.
If you could study any OU course, what would you choose?
I have many passions so that’s a very difficult question for me. I love history, I adore reading so literature would be a good one and I am interested in philosophy. Oh, and I’m always saying to my children that theology is a very interesting subject.
And if you could choose a different career?
That’s really difficult because I can’t imagine myself being anything other than a lawyer.
Posted: 2009
Platform’s Robyn Slingsby speaks to Cherie Blair, an OU honorary graduate, about the importance of higher education, juggling commitments, her passion for human rights and how life begins at 40. The Open University is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. What do you think the future holds for the OU? You know what they say, that life begins at 40! I ...
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