June graduates - at 82
11/07/2007
When June Fletcher collects her BA English and Creative Writing from Salford University next week she will be, at 82, one of the country’s oldest graduates.
June completed her A levels nearly 70 years ago and enrolled at Liverpool Physical Training College but decided to abandon her studies when war broke out. She joined the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, where she learnt how to fly planes in order to teach bomber pilots techniques for night missions.
Now, after a successful career teaching PE in Salford’s schools, she has finally been able to complete a degree at her local university.
She said: “I’ve been writing books and poetry for a long time, but I wanted to find out the most modern methods of creative writing so I took the course at Salford. It was a great experience for me to be around other students, many of whom were a quarter of my age. All of them were very kind, helpful and friendly. There was no special treatment for me though - I had to work just as hard as all the rest.”
June now plans to take a gap year (exploring Salford’s parks with her husband) and then hopes to come back to the University to do a Master’s. She’s also going to produce a book of poetry.
At the same graduation ceremony as June there will also be 75-year-old Conrad Jones who is collecting an MA in Democratisation Studies. Conrad was inspired to take his postgraduate degree by his experiences in the Korean War and has successfully battled cancer to complete the course.
Like June and Conrad, around half of the University of Salford’s students are classed as mature (over 21 years old), with many returning to university to help with their careers or just to learn more about a subject that interests them. A levels are not essential for many courses, as previous experience and alternative qualifications may be taken into account.
Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, Dr Scott Thurston, said: “June is a great example of how the love of learning never goes away.”
For details on courses at Salford, see the link below.