BA (Hons) Primary Education (5-11) with Recommendation for QTS graduate, Lydia Whitwam, attended the Leeds Beckett 2022 Graduation Ceremony. In this story, she shares with us her experience studying at Leeds Beckett and how she found commuting to university.

• Course: BA (Hons) Primary Education (5-11) with Recommendation for QTS

How was your Graduation Ceremony?

I loved it, I feel very emotional that it is all over but it felt amazing walking across the stage knowing what I have achieved.

What’s next for you after graduation?

I will be starting teaching in Bradford in September, I started looking early for jobs to be prepared and I applied for the job around May time and ended up getting it. I’m looking forward to a relaxing summer break and then getting stuck into working life in September.

Why did you choose to study BA (Hons) Primary Education (5-11) at Leeds Beckett University?

I have always known I wanted to be involved with working with kids, from a young age, I was a scout leader which I really enjoyed. My mum is a teacher too, so I have learnt a lot from her and saw how much she enjoyed it. I chose Leeds Becket because I didn’t particularly want to live at university and with it not being that far I could travel every day because I live in Halifax. Plus I think it’s the best in the area for Education courses.

How have you found commuting to university, do you feel it’s still easy enough to make friends and be involved in university activities?

Living in Halifax is not too far away, and I have made best friends with people on the course who live in Leeds, so I always have the option of staying over at theirs if needs be. It’s never been an issue and I would tell anyone who is thinking of commuting to do it as you get the same experience and it’s so much cheaper.

What was your favourite part of the course?

My favourite part of the course was my subject specialism, the inclusion module. It was really interesting and pushed me, I learnt a lot from it. In my job interviews, I could bring a lot of good questions and answers to the table about inclusion which I think they were impressed with.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of studying your course?

If you need the support, ask for it because it’s such a supportive environment. Whether that be from the academics or if you don’t want to speak to your teachers there is the pastoral team who are always there for you.