Ella Brooks is a BA (Hons) Music Performance and Production student, who has just completed her first year. She is from Crofton in Wakefield, and made the decision to study locally at Leeds Beckett and live at home throughout University.

In this blog, she shares her experience of being a local student and offers her advice for anyone considering doing the same. She also talks through what she’s enjoyed about her course so far.

Why did you choose to study locally at Leeds Beckett?

For someone who’s lived in small villages on the outskirts of a relatively small city for their whole life, Leeds immediately stood out as an attractive option. Though it’s not actually that far from me, it’s far enough for me to still be able to have the ‘Uni experience’ that everyone seems to desire. 

Moving out to live in student accommodation never appealed to me, but studying in Leeds meant that wasn’t ever a problem. It meant I could still live my life at home without much disruption, as well as living almost a separate life in Leeds. It’s a great city for students wanting to study a creative subject, with a generally lively scene day and night. There’s always something on and many opportunities to meet people from all over, and I’ve always felt it’s a very welcoming city. 

How have you found the experience of living at home whilst studying?

For me, the experience of studying whilst living at home has benefited me in many ways. It’s allowed me to keep my job, afford a car (which in turn has made travelling to Leeds much easier), have my own rehearsal space without having to worry about noise complaints, and become better at managing finances and budgeting. 

Having a comfortable and familiar environment to go home to on a daily basis also helps me to keep motivated as I have family there to support me if the workload gets hard, and a lot less financial stress. 

What have you enjoyed about your course so far?

What I enjoy most about my course is how hands-on it is. The amount of control you’re given really allows you to understand how you can use the industry-level equipment to benefit your career. Having different teachers for each module is also something I enjoy, as for me, that’s something that helps to keep me motivated. Having a different teacher for each class confirms that for each class you’re getting someone who specialises in that subject, therefore growing your circle of professional connections.

What do you want to do in the future after graduating?

In the future, I would love to be a performing artist, whether that be in a band or as a solo artist - that would be the ultimate dream, to get my music out there and make my mark within the music industry. Having said that however, I am quite open to exploring different careers within the industry. I wouldn’t mind teaching music at all. Knowing that I would be inspiring and helping the next generation of artists would definitely be something I’d be happy to do. 

I always think that if I hadn't got into music, I wouldn’t be half the person I am today and I wouldn’t be half as happy either. It’s been such an essential part of my life and I think anything that allows me to get across the importance of it, especially as a subject, would be something I’d be willing to do.

What advice would you give to other people considering studying locally at Leeds Beckett?

If I had to give any advice about studying locally at Leeds Beckett, I would definitely say don’t rule it out just because it doesn’t feel adventurous enough or because it’s not enough of a change. I feel like everyone automatically assumes that university has to be this big, life changing event where you move away and change every aspect of your life. As fun as it can be moving somewhere new, having that freedom from family and making new friends, I think most people underestimate the stress that can sometimes come with it all. 

Studying locally doesn’t take away the ‘Uni experience’ and it certainly doesn’t mean you can’t become more independent; for a lot of people, it just makes the whole situation easier and less stressful. If you’re looking for a city that provides that vibrant hustle and bustle, you can’t go wrong with Leeds.