Mandy McGovan, originally from Worcester, now lives in Redruth with her Cornish husband and young son and works in the prescriptions department for the local NHS Drugs Team. Much of her life had been dedicated to working full time as well as pursuing a successful ten year career as a professional singer in pubs, clubs and hotels. But at thirty, Mandy realised she wanted to do something more with her life; something that she really believed in. Having always wanted to work with children, she took the huge decision to go back into education to pursue her dream of becoming a primary school teacher.
After attending an open day at Truro College and meeting course leaders, Mandy found the programme to suit her- she explains, "The foundation degree in Early Childhood Education looked really interesting and the modules covered a wide range of areas, meaning it was a good base for me to go on to further qualifications afterwards."
The course consists of attending lectures at college for two and a half days a week with coursework being completed at home. This has enabled Mandy to balance her studies with working, singing and looking after her family. She admits it has not been easy, saying "I had to sacrifice a lot to do this- for example, cutting back work to part time means less money all round and finding time to fit everything in can be a struggle. But I really want to be a teacher and this course has made it achievable- if it had only been a choice of a full time, five day week at college I would never have been able to do it."
Studying at home is often the only option for working parents like Mandy, so computer links and the choice of distance based learning are essential. Advances in technology and new facilities at Truro College have brought systems such as the web based 'Moodle' site; which allows students to access lecturers' notes via the college's intranet.
Despite the many challenges Mandy faces in following her dream, she is glad of the support she has received, explaining, "It was fourteen years since I last did any studying and I didn't know if I could do this, but the lecturers are lovely and you can really see that they want us to do well."
The lectures for the course are based in the brand new Fal building on the Truro College campus, which has been built as part of Phase Two of the Combined Universities in Cornwall initiative to provide resources for more courses and increased student places.
Students completing the Fda course will also have the option to remain in Cornwall and enter the third year of the BA (Hons) Degree in Early Childhood Studies run by the University of Plymouth- where lectures and tutorials will be provided by Plymouth staff within the county.
The collaboration of institutions within the CUC partnership is giving more people the chance to go into higher education and achieve their goals. Mandy has already been able to experience her future goal during work based learning and knows it is what she always wanted, "It was wonderful- every day was something different. Something new the children would say or do, the way they look up to you or the way they played. I learnt so much just in those two weeks. Work based learning really benefits me and I'm really glad it's central to this course."
