Hi, I’m Robert, one of the mentors with Focus West. You’ll be able to recognise me, because I’m the “Old Guy” with the cool Adidas trainers.
We work with schools to help support students identified by their teachers as having the potential to go on to Higher Education at College and University. This is something I’d have loved the opportunity to access when I was at school. I was quite a bright kid, but I didn’t have a lot of faith in myself, and I was a bit of a smart Alec, so I ended up leaving school with very few qualifications. This had a pretty big impact on my life, although at the time I thought I knew better than everyone who told me how important my education was.
I loved acting and drama when I was a teenager, but I always thought that people like me, from housing schemes, didn’t go and do things like that. After stumbling through life for a lot of years and making loads of mistakes and bad decisions, I decided to go to college two years ago to study Acting and Performance. I was working in a job that I didn’t enjoy and after having a part in an amateur play, I spoke to my friends, who encouraged me to pursue something I was really passionate about.
I recently passed an HND and because of this I was able to articulate to University, (this means my college qualification counts toward my degree) and I started third year of a Performance Degree in September. Articulation through college is a great way to go to Uni if you don’t leave school with the required qualifications. Going to college was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It completely changed my life, I got a qualification that launched a completely new career, and I met new people who will be my friends for the rest of my life. I was by far the oldest in my class, but one of the best things about Higher Education is the variety of people on most courses. It was hard work, but a lot of fun, and the social side was great.
I got a student loan to help support me through the course, which was helpful, because it meant I only had to work part time. I don’t have to pay this back until I’m earning a decent salary. I also had my course fees paid. We’re really lucky in Scotland that we don’t have to pay for education.
I’ve now had some paid acting jobs, (though not on the tele yet!), and I get to do something I love doing every day. If I hadn’t gone to college that would never have happened. I guess what my story tells you is that further education is a great opportunity, but that it’s not a competition, and it’s never too late!