Today is review day on the Access course and what I thought about it.

OVERVIEW.

In a lot of ways I was very nervous about this course. First of all I had been away from education for 28 years and I did not know what to expect. On the first day I met previous students of this course and I felt a bit overwhelmed by what they had to say. I had left a secure job paying a good wage and I was starting to think, that maybe I had done the wrong thing. As the week progressed I started to settle in and realised this was just what I needed, something to push and challenge me. I had been a manager and was used to working to deadlines, time management and being focused on what I was doing. These skills were transferable to the learning process. The course has progressed at a good pace. Over the past year I have learned how to investigate topics on my own, work in a group, present my ideas, write essays, both critical and factual and also understanding a new language (to a certain extent.)

I found the tutors were very supportive and the subjects were interesting. English Lit was a struggle to begin with, but I now have a better understanding of poetry. All the other subjects have been very good. I found the trick was to keep an open mind and keep pushing myself. I am now near the end of the course and I can look over the past year with satisfaction and pride. I have put a lot of hard work into this and I am ready to reap the rewards, namely a place at Edinburgh Uni. I would never have been able to achieve this without this course.

All the subjects apart from Study skills felt relative to what I was doing. I have singled out Study skills because at first I thought the information i was getting was a bit daft e.g. "make sure you have a proper desk to study at, in your house" One of the best bits of advice I could have received. Study Skills does make sense after a while because it does give you the skills to learn. This might sound silly, but no matter how long you have been out of the education system, it is always good to be kept informed and hear about new ideas on how to make study more simplistic. What I liked about most of the topics was the fact that, after the tutors explained the subject with me , I then had to go and under my own steam, produce a written piece of work to reflect my understanding on the subject. Feed back was quick and the comments were always helpful.

I look back on the past year and I can see how I have improved. My thinking process and my outlook on life has changed along with my self esteem. I am now able to look forward and know that so many doors are going to be open to me. I really only have positive things to say about the course and the tutors on it. However, room changes and lack of facility's in some of the classrooms left both myself and the tutor perplexed. I felt that some of tutors were being a little lax with their deadlines. I would make sure that I would have my essays done on time, only to find out that others still had not started theirs. To me this defeated the purpose of setting a deadline. These are niggling details, as I have mentioned before, this course suited my needs.

The main thing I have learned on this course, is not to be afraid of new challenges. Ask, if I'm not sure. Keep focused and enjoy the experience. I have, throughout this year set myself targets and I have been able to achieve them. I now feel confident to say, "I'm going to be a University student."

College has given me the opportunity to see that I am more than a butcher and that I do have untapped knowledge and potential. I am now starting to formulate plans and ideas for my future that I would never have imagined last year would be possible.