This is Linda's story:

When I left school without the 'necessary qualifications' I thought I would never fulfil my dream of becoming a midwife. A few years later, as a full-time mother and single parent, I was working menial part-time jobs, desperately hoping for a better opportunity to come along. It was at this time that a friend told me about Access to HE and how completing the qualification could enable me to take a midwifery degree at university.

I decided to join an Access to HE course at my local college and immediately found my fellow students supportive and friendly. The work was hard – I hadn’t written anything since school – but my tutors were very patient and helped me to understand the more complicated areas. My confidence and self esteem grew every day.

I was so pleased to complete the course and soon applied to university. During my interview I found that my Access to HE qualification was highly valued by the university and I was offered a place on a BSc (Hons) Pre-Registration Midwifery course. I graduated with a 2:1 and only narrowly missed out on a 1st.

After almost giving up hope all those years ago, I am now working as a full-time midwife and enjoying every minute. I recently returned to my local college to talk to current Access students about my success story. I never tire of telling people about the benefits of Access to HE!

This case study originally appeared on the QAA website