Laura Walker

My favourite part of my role is helping my students take the first step towards fulfilling their ambitions to go to university and, eventually, progressing into their dream careers. 

Laura started her role as a tutor on the Access to HE Diploma at Lancaster & Morecambe College in 2015 while doing her teaching placement in the College Access department as part of her PGCE teacher training course. Prior to retraining to become a tutor, Laura worked in the Learning Support team also at LMC for two years as a Learning Support Assistant.

The Access to HE Diploma is an adult alternative to A Levels for amibitious adults who aspire to progress to university. Laura's specialist subject within the Access team is Psychology, this is a subject that she throughally enjoys and is qualified up to PhD level.

I am responsible for teaching the Psychology, Social Issues in Healthcare and Study Skills units on the Access to HE Diploma Level 3, Health and Social Care course. This involves preparing and delivering lessons speciafically for people aged 19 and over who are wanting to progress onto university, and a lot of marking!  

As many students who choose to apply to the Access to HE course may have taken a break from education due to other commitments, but may have always dreamed of persuing a particular career, Laura talks about her favourite parts of her role:

My favourite part of my role is helping my students take the first step towards fulfilling their ambitions to go to university and, eventually, progressing into their dream careers. 

As the students’ course tutor, Laura is responsible for assisting them with their UCAS applications to get into their chosen universities and for writing their academic references, and says  

I regularly liaise with local universities and other external agencies to organise talks and visits related to progression into Higher Education. I enjoy being able to help students get back into studying and showing them how to write academically again having been out of education for some time.

When asked what she would you say to someone who was thinking about studying the Access to HE Diploma, her reply was;

Go for it!  It’s never too late to pursue your ambitions.