Twenty students from the BA (Hons) in Applied Education Studies course have been studying part-time with the University. Using Arthur Mellows Village College as a remote study centre, they have completed a four-year course aimed at giving students more flexibility to combine study with other commitments.

The students graduated from the University’s Putteridge Bury campus with outstanding results, with six of them achieving a first class honours degree.

Graduate Lorraine Bunning said: “It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s all been worth it. I’m now teaching at a school in Peterborough and I love it.”

Fellow graduate Debbie Stroud said: “I wanted to do this course to prove you’re never too old to get a degree. I’ve made lots of friends and we kept each other going and supported each other.”

The course is operated by tutors from the University who travel to the college to provide the weekly teaching and contact time. The students are fully enrolled with the University which provides all the support and academic resources that being a student entails.

Course Leader Allyson Goodchild said: “We are extremely proud of the outstanding achievements of our first graduate cohort from the Peterborough campus. The students, who are all working in support roles in local schools in Peterborough and the surrounding area, have worked extremely hard over the last four years, balancing professional and personal commitments with part-time academic study. It has been lovely to see them receive their well-deserved awards.”