We didn’t even know each other a year ago and now we don’t go a single day without talking to each other!

It doesn’t feel like a year ago, but we started our Foundation degrees at Leeds Trinity University in September 2021. We both applied not knowing anyone else on the programme. Sineeta works as a Teaching Assistant in a primary school and Jemma is a Pastoral Lead at a school in York. It’s crazy how this year has gone. It’s not been easy – study days on campus are the most hectic days, but we are so glad we did it. We would recommend anybody who is thinking about joining Leeds Trinity to just do it, you won’t regret it.

Jemma

I remember when we first met; the first week was a bit of a blur of information and nerves, but the second week I asked to sit with you on the bench outside Starbucks on a sunny day. You were sat with others in the group, and I thought everyone knew each other but they didn’t. Once we started talking, we have never stopped. We even FaceTime now when we are both in our own homes studying. We don’t talk to each other, but we keep each other on the phone whilst we read or write, then we ask each other questions or check how we understand something.

We became friends as we both arrive at the last minute to get to taught sessions at 1.30pm. We both work in the mornings, so leaving our schools at lunchtime is always a little tight on time. Sineeta is a first aider, so it’s always the day a child has a fall and needs help! But we always make it, and we know we are welcome when we do arrive.

As we are both last minute arriving on campus – and we both drive in so we share the same hunt for a car parking space – we have started calling each other when we park up and we can walk in together. The group are really good and have started keeping us the same two seats free in class every week, as they know we will make an entrance and want to sit together. So, we have a quick catch up as we walk in, and then dive straight into the taught session.

Sineeta

We tend to stay together at breaktime, getting coffee, food, or visiting the library. For us we have more time at the end of the day, we don’t rush off and that’s when we benefit from sharing ideas and thinking through what has been raised that day. Some people in our group do this before the class starts, and spend the morning on campus reading, or even just having a chat together over coffee before the session starts.

Our classrooms are still booked out to us for a little while after the taught session finishes, which is really helpful. We can finish our notes without having to pack up and move anywhere. We talk through the session ideas, or what we need to do for an assignment. Sometimes we just listen to music whilst we plan our ‘to-do list’ for the week.

We have found a good rhythm to our study days on campus, and that has really helped. It might seem scary at first, but it isn’t once you find your feet and people to hang out with. The support is always there. It’s within the simple moments that the daily habits for studying for a degree become manageable. Our study days on campus for the Foundation degree are full on – but it’s full of fun, it’s full of support and it’s fulfilling our dreams of gaining a degree.

Jemma Evennett is studying Supporting Education, Behaviour and Additional Needs, whilst Sineeta Singh is studying Supporting Families and Communities. Find out more about our Foundation degree programmes at Leeds Trinity.