SWINDON College is proving that education is not just for the younger generation.

Access courses are open to adults of any age regardless of their educational background.

And those disillusioned with A-levels following the furore surrounding this year's results will be pleased to know that access courses act as an alternative way in to university.

They have a great track record, with Swindon College sending more than 200 mature students on to university in the past decade. As reported in the Evening Advertiser last week, four of its students are preparing to pursue degrees at Oxford.

John Fowler, who oversees the courses, said: "We give people an opportunity at a time in life when they are ready to re-evaluate and take a new direction.

"We have people from such a broad range of backgrounds here, people who failed at school because they were dyslexic and it was not treated, people who have been made redundant and want a new career, people who have recovered from drug addictions and people returning to work after a break to have children.

"We have had people with no education to people with PhDs study with us."

Access courses are a year long. They are recognised by universities as an alternative to A-levels and carry more weight than any other previous qualifications a mature student may have.

The secret of their success is that students spend their first term trying everything available to them in their chosen field, be it art and design, the caring professions, humanities, IT and computing, science or teacher training.

Students on the art and design course, for instance, have sessions on everything from drawing to sculpture and ceramics.

It gives them the chance to find out where their strengths lie before deciding what to do in the later stages of the course and at university.

The other major factor in their popularity is the flexibility they offer students. Mr Fowler urges people not to be put off enrolling because of work or family commitments.

He said: "If people come to us and tell us what their situation is, we can try and work something out. We have trained counsellors at the college and their job is to help people find the course that suits them.

"On the access courses not everyone is able to make every session and we work around that. Some people leave early because they need to pick their children up from school, some do it full time and others part time.

"You aren't going to get shouted at if you are late, and if you miss days with good reason there won't be a problem."

Mike Juggins is one of the art and design course's success stories. He went to the college seven years ago and graduated with a degree in Art in a Social Context at Bristol University. He is now a respected dyslexic artist and has just set up a new company, Ants In Yer Pants.

He said: "I was always interested in art and design but couldn't get on at college because of my dyslexia. I had a brilliant time on the access course. It was the most enjoyable of my four years in education.

"Creatively it helped me even more than my degree.

"There was a great mix of people, from 19-year-olds to people in their 40s, and that meant you had different ideas, different music and political views that helped get the ideas flowing."

Ceramics tutor Denise Roberts said: "I've been doing this job for seven years now and it still feels new and fresh because every year you get a totally new group of students to work with.

"Teaching access is different because the students have experience they bring to the course. Some of them worry because they have not been studying and practising art intensively in school but we teach the basics.

"One of the first things we do is work on their confidence because it is a big life change for them, they have to realise they all have their own strengths.

"But I love teaching them because see people thrive and being creative is inspiring."

www.swindon-college.ac.uk

www.ucas.ac.uk/access

Mike Juggins' home page: www.juggins1.freeserve.co.uk