Strode College Higher Education students rounded off the year by welcoming many visitors to their 2022 Showcase. Head of Faculty, Sarah Probert, introduced the event which consisted of graduating students' from History, Heritage & Archaeology, Management (Business), Psychology and English with Creative Writing Foundation and Degree courses sharing their final assignment work. The flourishing adult offer in Higher Education degrees runs in partnership with the University of Plymouth and comes with dedicated teaching spaces and a common room in the College's Higher Education & Skills Centre.

Emily Keen, an English with Creative Writing student, presented her first article published by What's On Somerset magazine 'The Write Stuff.' She discusses her personal experience and the uniqueness of the course delivered through creative workshops and small groups to provide individualised support and covering writing from 16th century journaling to website content creation.

Emily joined Strode just before the pandemic after leaving her Marketing Executive job; she was looking to develop her 'content writing' skills. She found Strode College online: "It was a no-brainer, the course had everything I was looking for and it was close to home, perfect for someone with a young family. I loved the course; it gave me the confidence and skills needed to become a freelancer." Emily commented.

Emily had her first commission to co-write a pantomime for this year's Christmas holidays, the proposal came on her last term of study at College. She also has a few small business clients that she writes content for and will continue to grow her clientele.

The third time lucky, Jeni Waller is walking away with a new qualification, this time a degree. "This is the third time I am a student at Strode College, I did my A Levels here a few years back, then I returned to get a teaching qualification, and now I have completed a BA (Hons) Degree in History, Heritage, and Archaeology. I think Strode has the right education for all stages of life and is local." Jeni said.

Jeni presented the website she developed for Somerset children titled historykidssomerset.weebly.com. An ideal educational resource to teach children about local sites and the history around Street, Glastonbury, Wells and surrounding areas. The website has a timeline to guide young visitors through historical events. Jeni will progress her project by adding collaborators and public participation. She also landed a Teacher Assistant position in a Mendip school, the ideal testing environment.

The Management (Business) Foundation Degree highlighted graduate Maranella Raso. After finishing her A Levels at Strode, she was unsure if university was the correct path for her. Nevertheless, after looking into the Foundation Degree in Management (Business) course she knew immediately it was a good fit for her.

"Entrepreneurship is something I desire; my parents own their own business, and their parents own their business - all in the food industry. For my final project, I explored developing 'children cooking camps' where they learn all basics of food preparation but also learn to manage the financial side of it." Maranella commented. She is continuing her studies at the University of Plymouth for her final year, as now she feels ready to move on.

James Hunt explored the historical side of Shepton Mallet Prison by creating a documentary as the final project for his History, Heritage and Archaeology BA (Hons) Degree. The prison closed in 2013 and is now a tourism attraction where James works part-time as an Events Coordinator. He wanted to learn more about the daily running of the prison and its history, so he decided to interview ex-employees still living in the area. The result was an 11-minute video titled 'Memories of a Prison.'

"If there is enough interest I will develop a sequel, I want to interview an inmate, but they were all moved to different prisons around the country. Preparing this video was an experience; we just do not know how life is inside four walls. The course certainly put me on the right path as I was at a crossroads in my life when I started." James commented.

Strode College Higher Education offers a great alternative to studying popular subjects at a larger city university. All adult learners have access to facilities across the Ofsted 'Outstanding' College campus. Studying is possible either full-time (two days a week) or part-time (one day a week) leaving time for paid work. A Levels or Access to HE qualifications are not essential if you have experience and ability and applicants can apply directly to the College. For further information on Strode College's range of university level courses visit strode-college.ac.uk/he