TWO NORTHLEW women who returned to school after having children have completed GNVQ courses in record breaking time and are heading for a career in midwifery.
Jane Turner and Tracy Yelland are the shining stars of adult education at Okehampton College after receiving distinctions in Advanced Level GNVQ Health and Social Care but they are keen to put the message across that anybody can do it.
'I was horrendous at school,' said Jane, 37, whose four children range from the ages of 11 to 2. 'I was the world's worse pupil — I had the ability but did not use it.
'You do not realise until you are older how valuable your education is and I decided after having my last child that I wanted to fulfill my dream of being a midwife.'
Jane and her friend Tracy Yelland enrolled on the GNVQ course because the qualifications they gained at school were not enough to get them onto a nursing degree at university and they completed it six months early.
'Instead of upgrading our 'O' levels and GCSEs we opted for this GNVQ course which is alternative way of accessing university,' said mother-of-three Tracy, 38.
'At first I thought I would not be able to cope — I had not been to school for 20 years and we were on a course with 16 and 17-year-olds — but it was brilliant and the rest of the group were great.'
With a creche facility on hand the toddlers were taken care of and being a vocational course, times of study were flexible.
'We had 12 units to complete and I did a lot of work at home,' said Tracy.
'There were no exams, just tests as you go along and we did all sorts of things from presenting scripts for radio shows to researching the work at a pathology lab in Exeter. It was really interesting.'
A former coach driver, Tracy said she wanted a different occupation after having her children and something about helping to bring new life into the world appealed to her.
She said the course had given her a lot of confidence and she now had a craving for learning.
Jane added that the encouragement of the Okehampton midwives and the course tutors had been fantastic.
'The tutors fill you with confidence and I would say to people that it is never too late to start learning again.'
Both women start a three year degree course at Exeter University in September.
Community education tutor Alan King said there were plenty of adult learning opportunities at Okehampton College and in surrounding towns and villages and these would continue to increase in line with Government targets.
'We have all sorts from access courses to higher education such as GNVQs, A levels and GCSEs, courses in all levels of information technology and a range of social, informal learning courses such as Tai Chi, yoga, meditation, workwork and life drawing,' he said.
'From September we plan to take courses out into the rural villages because our aim is to increase the number of people that are continuing to do some sort of learning.'
Adults can join in daytime sixth form classes or attend evening or weekend courses.
'Tracy and Jane are a shining example of what is possible — they had the motivation to do it and all credit to them,' added Mr King.
The community education tutor is hoping to form an adult learning forum where people from the local towns and villages put forward their views on what is needed in their area.
Adult education courses are also provided by other centres and organisations such as the Ockment Community Centre in Okehampton, which also has a recently opened creche facility.