Grace works full-time in a care home and spends her spare time with her Mum and younger siblings. She enjoys helping people and she dreams of becoming a children’s nurse. Whilst working in community care, Grace discovered the Access to Higher Education Diploma at Clip.   Access to Higher Education diplomas provide an alternative route to enter university for people aged 19 and over. From applying for the diploma, she is now awaiting her results and has plans to study at university. Find out how Grace has achieved this as we take you through her journey. 

Access to Higher Education

Grace was keen to find a way into nursing so when a community nurse mentioned the Access to Higher Education Diploma (Access to HE) at Clip, Grace immediately started a google search and from this she emailed Zoe (Tutor) to find out more about the diploma. Having met with Zoe, Grace was offered an interview to study on the course which she attended in January 2024. Following a successful interview, Grace accepted an offer to study the diploma starting in September 2024. 

Grace had three careers in mind when she started but her first goal was to complete the diploma to allow her to study at university. Early into the course Grace received some upsetting personal news “Jeanette spoke to me, listened and offered advice which helped me stay on the course. My home life was busy as I was working full-time and looking after my younger siblings, but I kept my goal in mind.” 

 Grace’s Learning Journey 

Grace has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and overthinks a lot. As part of her studies, the tutors agreed she could study some aspects of the course from home and join classes remotely using microsoft teams. This helped Grace as she likes to go through things by herself, but she could still be part of the lessons from the comfort of my own space. Grace was juggling studying alongside moving house, working full-time and looking after her siblings but she was granted extensions for some of her assignment deadlines which helped ease the pressure on her and ultimately helped her complete the course. 

Having achieved her goal of completing the diploma, Grace is now preparing to study children’s nursing at Sheffield Hallam University. This course will create a lot of opportunities for Grace, as it will allow her to work as a children’s nurse in the UK or abroad, and she hasn’t ruled out studying for her Master’s degree either. 

Grace shared some advice for anyone considering studying Access to HE “Go for it, you’re never too old to do it. It's a one-year course and two days a week. The tutors are so supportive and so understanding. If you want to go on a different pathway to where you’re at now, this is the course. It’s small groups you work in; it’s not a big class of 30 people which means you get more support.” 

If you dream of studying at University and want to take charge of your future, contact info@cliplearning.com or you can register for the Access to Higher Education Diploma.