Shining a light on the achievements of our care leavers

The University of Huddersfield is celebrating the achievements of its care leaver students as part of National Care Leavers' Week.

A care leaver is someone who spent time in the care of a local authority when they were a child, with foster families, in residential homes or other arrangements outside of their own family.

Most care leavers who enter higher education are as likely to get good degrees, enter employment or go on to post-graduate study as their peers, but care leavers are still under-represented in HE. Only 13% of children in care at age 16 will be in HE at 19, compared to 43% of the general population.

Lian Bate: Studying at the University of Huddersfield has been the most amazing experience and I feel very grateful for the opportunities that it has opened up to me.

National Care Leavers' Week is a chance to shine a light on the outstanding achievements of young people who have had to overcome more challenges in their early lives than many face in a lifetime.

“Any student, irrespective of their background can find aspects of university life demanding and difficult but these issues can prove more acute for care leavers,” says Rebecca Hayes, Support Coordinator for care leavers in the University’s Wellbeing Team.

“We are committed to providing the support our care leavers need in order to thrive and succeed in higher education and to achieve their full potential. We are proud to celebrate the achievements of these incredible young people and we are immensely grateful for the value they bring to our university community.”

The University has a range of measures that provide our care leavers with emotional, practical and financial support during their studies. These include:

We are delighted for all our care leaver graduates this year, and three from this year’s cohort have shared their stories with us.

Lian Bate 2:2 Psychology with criminology

Coming to university as a care leaver is very daunting. You worry that you will be disadvantaged compared to other students because of your background. As a care leaver I felt very separate and different - other people don’t tend to understand about the experience of having grown up in care.

Having a designated support worker in the university who did understand was just amazing. I could go to her with anything, she was always there to listen and to support me through whatever was happening. She made me feel I belonged, that she cared about me and would always have my back. She even attended some lectures with me when I was particularly anxious and didn’t feel like I could go in. I don’t think I would have got through my degree without this kind of support.

It was also really useful to meet other students who had been in care. I’ve met people whose own successes inspired me and made me feel like I could do it, too. There is a lovely community of people who gain support from each other, which is a huge help.

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Lian Bate, Yemesgen Tulu and Natasha Jones

It feels amazing to have finally graduated. At school I never thought that I would be able to go to University and get a degree. Studying at the University of Huddersfield has been the most amazing experience and I feel very grateful for the opportunities that it has opened up to me. I’m very proud of everything I’ve achieved and feel very grateful for all the support I’ve had along the way.

Yemesgen Tulu 1:1 in Energy Engineering

I never would have thought that I would be able to achieve the academic success that I have. To have achieved a first class degree is not something that I would have thought possible as a young man who arrived in this country as an unaccompanied asylum seeker from Ethiopia.

I started a degree at another University before I came to Huddersfield but quickly realised that it wasn’t the right degree for me. The degree in energy engineering offered at the University of Huddersfield was the perfect degree for my interests.

I have benefitted enormously from the support offered at the University. I met the care leaver contact as soon as I arrived, and she ensured that everything was in place to ensure that I could succeed in my studies. I was able to acquire a laptop and a specific bursary, as well a single point of support throughout my courses. When I was struggling, she was always there to listen, support and advise.

Yemesgen Tulu: It feels amazing to have graduated with a first class honours degree and I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life.

Natasha Jones 2:1 Childhood studies. 

I never thought that I would be able to go to university as a care leaver. I was always told that due to my background, I wouldn’t be able to follow my dreams.

Natasha Jones: My advice to other care leavers is to go for it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve what you dream. Always believe in yourself and be true to who you are.

It feels strange to have graduated in the middle of a pandemic and not being able to celebrate properly. But, I am so proud of myself for overcoming all the obstacles that stood in my way and to now be achieving all my dreams.

Please contact Rebecca Hayes, Support Coordinator (Care Leavers and Vulnerable Adults) R.Hayes@hud.ac.uk if you have any queries.

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Some of the results achieved by our graduating care leavers this year:

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