Saturday 14 August 2010

University admissions

I was delighted to hear about Shena Deuchars's daughter getting a place at Exeter University on the strength of 190 points from the Open University. I don't know how common this, but it is very encouraging to hear about. On the subject of university admissions, I am sure that we both know that the two people whose names always crop up are Alex Dowty and Chris Ford. When I wrote a piece for the Times Educational Supplement last year, it was inevitable that the person chosen to oppose my view mentioned both these young men. My difficulty with a lot of the stories about university admissions for home educated young people is that the details always seem to be shifting and changing. One never quite feels that one has got to the bottom of the matter!

I felt this very strongly when listening to Chris Ford's mother Janet on the wireless the other day. The standard story about her son is that he was autonomously educated, went to college at fourteen taking GCSEs and A levels and then went to university. I had been curious about this, because of the difficulty that many teenagers have in getting on to academic A level courses without already having a GCSE in the subject. People have quoted Chris Ford as a knockdown argument about this, telling me that this proves that it is possible to get on an A level course without having any GCSEs. His mother though revealed during her interview that he had taken a GCSE in mathematics when he was twelve, which presumably enabled him to get into college to do A levels.

I do wish that details like this were more generally known, as it might prevent a good deal of anguish when people try to get into college at sixteen without any GCSEs. One thing that I did find a little puzzling was that Janet Ford said that she couldn't remember how many A levels her son had taken, although she thought it might have been five. This is strange, because I have never met any parent who did not know how many A levels her son had. It is after all only a single digit between two and five and cannot be that hard to remember!

I wonder if anybody else knows of definite examples of university admissions like that of Shena Deuchars' daughter, by using Open university points? I am ware that some universities put this on their websites, but this is the only recent case of which I am aware of a teenager getting in without any other sort of qualification.

38 comments:

  1. Sorry, sent this to the wrong article!

    Simon wrote,
    "People have quoted Chris Ford as a knockdown argument about this, telling me that this proves that it is possible to get on an A level course without having any GCSEs. His mother though revealed during her interview that he had taken a GCSE in mathematics when he was twelve, which presumably enabled him to get into college to do A levels."

    This is not new information. For instance, Janet mentions the earlier GCSE and the GCSEs taken at college after 8 months in her responded to your TES article on the 3rd August 2009. Janet said:

    Most children do 11 years at school before their GCSE's whereas Chris was there for 8 months before he took his, but I am sure you are right and it was all the result of those 8 months at college not the preceding 14 years! I wonder however he managed to get the Maths (Higher) GCSE he took as an independent candidate 2 years before he got to college then?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmmm. You say of Chris Ford's taking his maths (Higher) GCSE at twelve that this is not new information, AnonySue. See what I said in this post:

    'My difficulty with a lot of the stories about university admissions for home educated young people is that the details always seem to be shifting and changing.'

    Chris Ford's education is a classic case in point. In 2007, his mother said of this maths (Higher) GCSE:

    8/4/07

    'just as my son did when he was 14, taking a GCSE in Higher maths after 6 months study.'
    (Civitas blog)

    Two years later, she said:


    3/8/09
    '! I wonder however he managed to get the Maths (Higher) GCSE he took as an independent candidate 2 years before he got to college then?'
    (TES)

    As I say, this is fairly typical of the stories surrounding home educated children who get into university, there never seems to be a standard and authoritative version, even from the parents! I'm glad that you mentioned the TES piece last year. Jeremy Yallop, who wrote a piece 'refuting' my arguments, said there:

    ' Alex Dowty, autonomously educated from the age of eight, decided against GCSEs and A-levels; instead, he took Open University courses in politics and humanities, which led to an unconditional offer to read law at Oxford.'

    Another classic example of the missing facts. In this case that Alex Dowty's father is a solicitor and that his son spent years working in a solicitors' office part-time in order to learn about law. It was this, according to some accounts, which clinched his offer of a place at Oxford.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Does anyone actually know how many OU points Alex D has for uni anyway? (ie it is less miraculous if he had a substantial number of points?)
    I do know another girl who has got uni offers to do sciences from OU points - in her case she had 160 points, although it was the two second level courses that she had (at 60 points each) that they were interested in; the unis also said that the fact she had maths and English GCSE was relevant.

    I am not sure really what any of this proves; there have always been some universities who will consider candidates with alternative qualifications. The problem is that we can't know how many such people they turn away; inevitably one only hears the success stories. That is the same though for A levels - and I suspect that as places appear to be falling, there will be a lot more competition however you are qualified!

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Does anyone actually know how many OU points Alex D has for uni anyway?"

    I don't know, but his story is important becuase of the sometimes false hope which it raises in those who might not know the full facts. Shena Deuchars' daughter got into Exeter to study law, but her first choice was Oxford. She and her mother had been inspired by Alex Dowty to try the OU route to get there. However, without the years of working in a solicitors' office, this was unlikely to be successful. I am not saying that such things never happen, only that we never seem to get the full facts so that a proper judgement can be made. this can mislead parents. I may seem very picky, staring hard at Chris Ford's background and so on, but it is important that home educating parents know what is and is not a realistic aim.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "8/4/07

    'just as my son did when he was 14, taking a GCSE in Higher maths after 6 months study.'
    (Civitas blog)

    Two years later, she said:


    3/8/09
    '! I wonder however he managed to get the Maths (Higher) GCSE he took as an independent candidate 2 years before he got to college then?'
    (TES)"

    Maybe he re-took the Maths GCSE at college in order to improve his grade, who knows? It doesn't really alter the basic facts that he gained enough GCSEs to go on to A levels after 8 months of study at college from age 14. Janet does not appear to have claimed that he was accepted onto A level courses without GCSEs as you claim in this article.

    I do agree with Julie though that competition is likely to increase with the number of places falling. Though, maybe the various proposals to increase the cost of a degree will relieve some of this pressure.

    I also think it would be irresponsible of a parent to base their advice to their children only on a few posts to email lists. At best we can tell them that it is sometimes possible to gain entry to University without standard qualifications. I wonder though if young people might be able to claim age discrimination if a University refuses to accept qualifications or experience that they would accept from a mature student? Age discrimination legislation is why young people aged under 18 are now accepted on OU courses, for instance.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "I also think it would be irresponsible of a parent to base their advice to their children only on a few posts to email lists."

    Criminally irresponsible would be a better way of stating the case!

    ReplyDelete
  7. "Criminally irresponsible would be a better way of stating the case!"

    So how much of a problem do you think this is? How many home educating parents are criminally irresponsible in the way, in your view?

    ReplyDelete
  8. " How many home educating parents are criminally irresponsible in the way, in your view?"

    Well I wouldn't like to say.We are talking of, as you said, those who base their advice to children only on a few posts to email lists.' I know roughly how many come on here each day, but have no idea how many base their advice upon the posts here. Similarly, I know how many members the HE-UK list has, but once again, have no figures for those who advice their children on education basing their advice only upon a few posts. What do you think, is it a widespread problem?

    ReplyDelete
  9. 190 points at the OU is half way to a degree, and as the courses require much more independent study and self-organisation than a bricks and mortar uni, why wouldnt a bricks and mortar Uni like Exeter accept those points? Open University courses that lead to HE points are all at a higher level than GCSE or A-Levels. Level 1 is equivalent to first year Uni study, Level 2 is equivalent to second year Uni study, Level 3 is equivalent to final year Uni study.

    I wouldn't be surprised if this person had been accepted straight into the second year of study given their Open Uni qualifications, depending on the similarity on the courses completed/being moved into. All they are really doing is transferring from one Uni to another, taking their study so far into account, which isnt uncommon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Anon, Yes, all that you say about OU points is technically true- but that doesn't make a uni accept them. Shena's daughter is starting at year 1, as is the other HE girl I have heard taking the same route. There is also the OU "2plus2 scheme" which we briefly considered - for chemistry and physics degrees, but these require 2 years OU study (at around 70 points a year) then 2 years at the partner university - so again it isn't a quick or simple option.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for talking about us behind our backs. As I use my real name everywhere on the 'net, it would not have been difficult to send a note letting me know that I was named here, Simon.

    I agree that it has been difficult to sort myth from fact in terms of university entrance. However, I do not see this as a conspiracy. I think that it has arisen partly because of the very few young people who have been EHE. The 0.7-1% that we are now (and growing) is, IMHO, going to be increasingly visible. It is still, however, a very small number and the number going on to university is therefore going to be very small, especially if EHE has a disproportionately high number of chilldren with needs and disabilities that preclude it.

    It is not easy to find out how many teens apply for uni each year. The papers report that there are 130K uni places and 170K teens will be disappointed, so let's assume around 300,000 18yo working towards uni entrance. It seems extremely unlikely that even as many as 2000 of those are home-educated. Many EHE young people drop into college at 16 and may lose contact with EHE networks; many others may have no academic inclination.

    One of the reasons that our story is freely available on the 'net (http://www.home-education-exams.org.uk/index.php?title=Personal_experiences_of_home_educators#Open_University:_one_family.27s_experience) is to encourage other people that there are alternative ways to do things. BTW, in the interests of full disclosure, my DD also has ECDL, a D in IGCSE drama and ABRSM GIII violin. These "lower" qualifications were gained at the same time as doing OU courses.

    I will address the Comments section of this page in another post.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Thanks for talking about us behind our backs."

    Hardly that. This is a public blog and I am discussing stuff that you posted publicly. I have certainly said nothing about either you or your daughter that is in the slightest rude or offensive. Even the most sensitive of individuals could surely not be upset at reading:

    'I was delighted to hear about Shena Deuchars's daughter getting a place at Exeter University on the strength of 190 points from the Open University. I don't know how common this, but it is very encouraging to hear about.'

    I have posted stuff here about my own daughter's academic achievement; having put the stuff on the Internet, I could hardly accuse anybody of talking behind my back if they mentioned it elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Julie:
    > Does anyone actually know how many OU points
    > Alex D has for uni anyway?

    No, but I believe he took two courses. I do not know for sure which ones, but a quick search on the OU website reveals that it could be 120 points. Certainly someone else has reported this year that they asked Oxford about OU points and were told that 120 would fulfill basic requirements. This matches other uni websites that indicate 30 points being equivalent to an A level - 120 is then equivalent to four A levels.

    @Simon:
    > Shena Deuchars' daughter got into Exeter to
    > study law, but her first choice was Oxford.
    > She and her mother had been inspired by Alex
    > Dowty to try the OU route to get there.

    Not exactly! Once embarking on OU (at 14), my DD had no intention of doing GCSEs and A levels. Prior to that, I had had a vague idea that we would do exams at some point. She chose Oxford because it is our closest uni and she liked the course. She was also attracted by the Oxford tutorial system. However, she applied to five unis. Apart from Exeter, both Oxford and Bristol indicated that her OU points were sufficient for entry.

    > However, without the years of working in a
    > solicitors' office, this was unlikely to be
    > successful.

    I do not know how you can say that - it is pure speculation. Oxford (and three of the other unis to which my DD applied, but not Exeter) also ask applicants to take the LNAT. On the day, my DD turned in a result in part 1 that was significantly lower than she had scored in practice. It was, therefore, a foregone conclusion that she would not be offered a place by four of the unis.

    After Exeter made the conditional offer, we looked in more detail at the course and it is definitely not a consolation prize.

    The course has rigour and is a dual degree from the start. The Oxford course would have included a year in Germany but would provide only an LLB. Twenty-five per cent of the Exeter course is taught in German while in Exeter and the final year is in Germany, resulting in a joint LLB and Magister.

    @AnonySue:
    >Age discrimination legislation is why young
    >people aged under 18 are now accepted on OU
    >courses, for instance.

    Strictly speaking, age discrimination legislation accounts for the 16-18s - if a young person is 16 there should not even be a question from the OU about admission. However, under 16s are still finding it hard to gain entry, in certain parts of the country and even after taking courses often have barriers presented by tutors. It is not an easy option.

    @Anon:
    My DD applied through UCAS in the normal fashion. We have not looked to transfer credits. Because my DD is going to study law, there is no direct correspondence. In any case, my DD wants the full uni experience, starting as a fresher and going all the way through. We expect that the OU has left her better prepared for the study than A levels would have done - she understands referencing and has had to organise herself to meet the OU deadlines.

    @Julie:
    I'm very interested to hear about the other girl. Could you (or her parent) send me more info? I'd like to include her on the HE Exams website.

    I like the look of the 2plus2 scheme, but my DS shows no particular interest in pure science. I guess one of the advantages of it for EHE kids is that they can start the relevant OU courses before they are 18, so they could finish earlier.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Shena said "However, I do not see this as a conspiracy. I think that it has arisen partly because of the very few young people who have been EHE"

    Actually surely one of the most relevant things is that most young people who enter uni do so after attending some sort of further education. Your daughter is an exception because she has chosen to remain home educated; I also know a few doing A levels at home - but they are in single figures, compared to the dozens I know doing GCSEs at home. Most home educated young people go on to some sort of college course even if they didn't take exams in the first place; many do this at 16; some (like my dd who has SEN, did so at 17). If these students do eventually go onto university then it is tricky to decide whether their home education is relevant; of course it must be (since the 2 years of A levels or whatever wouldn't be possible without all the previous years of home ed at all) but the direct link between outcomes of HE and later attainments is lost.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Simon,

    Leading on from all of this - so why did your daughter choose to go to college at 16 - in contrast with the decisions that Shena's daughter made? By the comments you have made the college isn't exactly a good one? Most home educated young people do follow the same route - we have - but I wonder what had changed in your case?

    ReplyDelete
  16. @Julie:
    I agree about the unusual aspect being applying to uni directly from EHE, which is why I think it is worth mentioning our situation. There are many (well-intentioned) myths about needing certain GCSEs or A levels.

    I also agree about obscuring the link. It would be ridiculous to suggest that someone could be successful in college between 16 and 18 without it being due to their prior EHE, even if that has not resulted in qualifications. That is the beef I have about the Badman Review, LAs and NEETs - just because an EHE young person does not have GCSE equivalents at 16, does *not* mean that they are NEET and are not able to become a useful adult member of society.

    IMO, it is less likely to mean that for an EHE young person than for a schooled young person because the EHE parents I come across do not tend to measure worth by exam passes, whereas that *is* the (subliminal) message of school. LAs and DoE are measuring the wrong thing wrt EHE.

    The other thing we cannot quantify is the young people (such as your DD) who succeed after EHE but would almost certainly have failed if they had stayed in school. There is no way we can prove or control for that, but the anecdotal evidence is massive, even if we look only at those declared dyslexic (and therefore unable to access the curriculum) by schools. We have a local example of a young man withdrawn at 10 from a school that defined him as SEN. At 16, with no GCSEs or formal learning of any sort, he did a college evening course in a craft that was relevant to the family business and was invited straight onto a related A-level course.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Shena again,

    I totally agree about the whole NEET thing - not only would my daughter have been included at one stage in that grouping, but also some young people who are studying 4 highly academic A levels at home.

    Howver on the other hand I do symphathise with Simon's intentions about trying to get acccurate information about who exactly is getting into university by "alternative routes".
    It is important that families make informed choices about home ed; and you do hear all sorts of bits of advice that imply that it doesn't really matter what you do if you home educate, because there are so many alternative routes available. It seems to me that OU is a route which has worked well for your daughter - but it has clearly been hard work, and university entrance for a competitive subject wasn't automatic. I hope your daughter has a wonderful time at university. Elsewhere there has been much discussion about an another alternative route to university entrance which is often marketed as straightforward, but when it comes to it there is little evidence to suggest that many will get in that way (and the parents will have spent a lot of money in the meantime). We could all do with clear information about these things.

    ReplyDelete
  18. You say Shena, that, 'There are many (well-intentioned) myths about needing certain GCSEs or A levels.' I know that you have tried to debunk the 'myth' that one needs A levels to become a vet. Surely the easiest way of debunking these 'myths' would be to tell everybody about vets who have not got any A levels? Do you know any?

    You also say that it is pure speculation for me to suggest that Alex Dowty's working in his father's office swung his admission to Oxford. Again, the easiest thing would be for you to tell everybody about home educated young people who gained places at Oxford purely on OU points? How many do you know of? For reasons which I have gone into here before, many universities make their admissions seem very open, but in practice things are often different.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Simon wrote,
    "Similarly, I know how many members the HE-UK list has, but once again, have no figures for those who advice their children on education basing their advice only upon a few posts. What do you think, is it a widespread problem?"

    I've no idea, I hope nobody does this but think we're unlikely to find out. How many people are likely to admit this?

    Shena wrote,
    "Strictly speaking, age discrimination legislation accounts for the 16-18s - if a young person is 16 there should not even be a question from the OU about admission. However, under 16s are still finding it hard to gain entry, in certain parts of the country and even after taking courses often have barriers presented by tutors. It is not an easy option."

    Yes, I meant to include a link to a document on the OU web site that made this clear but forgot, OU Policy for the admission of applicants under the age of 18. My daughter enquired about a Creative Writing 10 point course a few years ago without success, though we didn't try very hard because the registration deadline was only 2 weeks away. She enrolled on a similar course with the Open College of the Arts in the end - they have no age limits (or at least, they didn't about 4 years ago) but aren't cheap.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Some interesting replies to the question, 'do universities look down on home schooled children?', including some from HE young people at uni.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonysue,

    I can't get terribly excitied about the answers on that forum. Anyone can join and can say anything they like (not necessarily truthfully.)

    One person for eg stated for a fact that 50% of home educated students at Oxford do badly because of an over-inflated view of their own abilities. What? Oxford keeps stats on that? How is it assessed? Are the stats publically available? Are these students from the US? If there is a significant number of HE'd UK students who have been to Oxford why haven't we heard about them? Because 50% do badly? LOL!

    Most of those answers looked like speculation or just plain made up. For eg one person said, 'of course HE'd students are looked down on by universities. Most of them are inept.' Oh, really?

    Mrs Anon

    ReplyDelete
  22. " can't get terribly excitied about the answers on that forum. Anyone can join and can say anything they like (not necessarily truthfully.)"

    As somebody who has regularly visited the studentroom over the last year or so, I have to agree with Mrs Anon. Some of the answers are by people whom I suspect are not students at all. Those who are, are often idiots. Why should we want to get our facts of a bunch of nineteen year-old students? Frequently, what they say is clearly wrong and ill informed.

    ReplyDelete
  23. "Thanks for talking about us behind our backs. As I use my real name everywhere on the 'net, it would not have been difficult to send a note letting me know that I was named here, Simon."

    I have just spent some time searching for either an address or email contact for you, Shena, but with no luck. How would I have gone about contacting you to let you know that I was congratulating your daughter on her success?

    ReplyDelete
  24. @Julie:
    >It seems to me that OU is a route which has
    >worked well for your daughter - but it has
    >clearly been hard work, and university
    >entrance for a competitive subject wasn't
    >automatic.

    Is it ever? As someone who grew up on a working-class, council housing estate, I was never under the impression it was a right. In fact, I spent our early EHEing suggesting to my DC that they might like to look at skilled trades.

    >Elsewhere there has been much discussion about
    >an another alternative route to university
    >entrance which is often marketed as
    >straightforward

    I don't know what you are talking about here.

    >We could all do with clear information about
    >these things.

    I agree but compiling it is very difficult.

    @Simon:
    >You also say that it is pure speculation for
    >me to suggest that Alex Dowty's working in his
    >father's office swung his admission to Oxford.

    It *is* speculation - neither of us can have any real idea of what went through the mind of the admissions tutor. The known facts are that AD has a father who is a barrister, he was home-educated from 8 to 18, he took Grade 8 harp, he worked in a solicitor's office, he took two OU courses, and he was accepted into Oxford to read law. We can all speculate as to which of these things were relevant for his acceptance into Oxford but we cannot know.

    >Again, the easiest thing would be for you to
    >tell everybody about home educated young
    >people who gained places at Oxford purely on
    >OU points?

    My understanding is that this is *never* the case. If someone were to have six As at A-level, that would still not by itself guarantee their admission. I know that Oxford admissions staff told us at an open day that one reason they admit so many people from private schools is because only about 10% of their applications are from comprehensives. Their admissions are in line with the applications - they cannot admit people who do not apply.

    I would not suggest that they were doing anything other than telling the truth as they see it. If you are suggesting that there is a secret, less-open policy, I cannot comment on that.

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  25. "If you are suggesting that there is a secret, less-open policy, I cannot comment on that."

    I'm not suggesting anything of the sort. You say that there are 'myths' associated with the need for GCSEs and A levels. I agree. As I said above, you claim that one myth is that it is necessary to have A levels in order to study to be a vet. I am asking if you actually know of any vets who did not take A levels?

    Of course having six A levels would not guarantee admission to Oxford. Having none at all would practically guarantee that you would not be admitted though!

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  26. Certainly, I would expect that having no A-levels and no other proof of academic ability would guarantee that an application would not even be looked at.

    I've just been discussing this with my DD. We cannot say that she got into Exeter on the basis of 190 OU points. That is the academic qualifications with which she presented but she spent last autumn au-pairing in Germany and the interview concentrated on her robotics team experiences. Presenting with au-pairing and robotics alone would not have got her the place but did they cause her to be selected over another applicant? We have no way of knowing.

    ReplyDelete
  27. "The known facts are that AD has a father who is a barrister, he was home-educated from 8 to 18, he took Grade 8 harp, he worked in a solicitor's office, he took two OU courses, and he was accepted into Oxford to read law. We can all speculate as to which of these things were relevant for his acceptance into Oxford but we cannot know."

    I don't have a dog in this hunt, my son is only ten and my investigations into qualifications and FE are done on the basis that lots can change in the coming years with my immediate major focus being on how to keep the school off my back when I abandon the regulation curriculum in favour of creating a route to FE in the UK.


    But the above reads a bit like


    "The known facts are somebody was playing music in the garden, there was a big black cloud that passed over, the roses have been well tended and the ground is sodden, it's only speculation that it rained, we don't know what caused the abundant wetness"


    True somebody could have been playing a hosepipe in somewhat excessive fashion, but a sudden shower makes more sense as a reasonable conclusion, so some of the evidence is more relevant than other bits. If I ignore that the risk is I’ll spend all my time in the garden tending roses and listening to music in the mistaken belief that this is how I can get free watering done.


    I'm still don't really get the tension that exists in this debate. Cos it's obvious that people are invested in their children having access to FE. So a clear picture of what the norms are along with defining the exceptions (and which specific details of those exceptions offer the opportunity for similar exploitation by others, or not) has got to be a good thing.

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  28. "Most of those answers looked like speculation or just plain made up. For eg one person said, 'of course HE'd students are looked down on by universities. Most of them are inept.' Oh, really?"

    I did say interesting, not accurate. I'd no more expect people to take these comments at face value than comments made here or on email lists. However, it might be possible to enquire further about the home educator going to Bristol uni and their friends going to other good universities in an attempt to establish entry routes and the reliability of the poster, for instance. Three of the posters claimed to be home educated children at or going to university.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Various comments seem to be going astray, Simon. Not sure if this is a policy decision on your part or an accident of the internet. In case it's the second I'll post them again. I've removed any html in case that was causing a problem.

    =========

    Anyone know which MP was home-educated?

    "The analysis is based on the school and university backgrounds of all members of the House of Commons for whom sufficient data were available. School background information was
    collected on 620 (96%) of the 649 MPs, with 9 MPs educated abroad, one home-educated"

    http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:BhZ2BN2QZdcJ:www.suttontrust.com/reports/MPs_educational_backgrounds_2010_A.pdf+%22home+educated%22+oxford+university&cd=25&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=firefox-a

    http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/MPs_educational_backgrounds_2010_A.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  30. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=412870&c=1

    Interesting snippet - it's never too late!

    "A scholar who entered academia "by accident" is heading across the Atlantic to begin a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of California, San Diego. Rosie Meek, lecturer in psychology at the University of Southampton, was largely home educated and in her teenage years she had jobs that included working as a farmhand, a gamekeeper's assistant and a groom. She became interested in psychology after enrolling for an introductory distance-learning class, which she followed up with an A level. It was then that she started volunteering for New Bridge, a charity offering support and advice to prisoners. "Little did I realise that this experience would inspire some of my subsequent research," she said. Dr Meek went to read social psychology at the University of Sussex, and said her lecturers "instilled a real passion for applying social psychology to real-world issues". Gaining research experience at the Brighton-based Trust for the Study of Adolescence, Dr Meek returned to Sussex to study for a master's in psychological methods and then a PhD. She supplemented her studentship by teaching throughout her doctorate, and she got a job at Southampton soon after completing. "I love the variety that my role entails, from the pastoral care of students, through to delivering lectures and carrying out and managing an exciting range of research projects," Dr Meek said. But work-life balance is also important: "I make sure I find time to spend with my family, friends, horses and sheep!"

    ReplyDelete
  31. "Various comments seem to be going astray, Simon. Not sure if this is a policy decision on your part or an accident of the internet."

    No, it isn't me, at least not intentionally. As you might know, I have never had any moderation on here, but was forced to introduce it recently because of some lunatic who was posting dozens of abusive and obscene comments. As soon as this stops, I shall remove the moderation. Sorry for any posts which go missing, but I am still having to wade through dozens of ridiculous one and two word comments by this guy and some other comments might get lost along the way.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Thanks Simon - shame there's no other way around the problem.

    ReplyDelete
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