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Double uni delight as mum and son graduate
Rachel Baxter graduates
There aren’t many excuses that could be used for missing your own graduation.
But for 47-year-old Rachel Baxter, she has had to forgo her ceremony today, Wednesday, because her son is also graduating.
Rachel, from Tennyson Gardens, Horncastle, has completed a PGCE course at Lincoln’s Bishop Grosseteste and was due to don the cap and gown for Wednesday’s graduation, but the family have decided to travel to London to watch son Chris instead.
“Of all the days we were given,” Rachel said. “But we are going to travel to London because you can’t miss your son’s graduation.
“He is graduating with a 2:1 in TV and Film Production at Greenwich University.”
Rachel chose to do a PGCE after completing a thee-year Education Studies and Maths degree and added that this isn’t the first time the family have had trouble with graduation ceremonies
She said: “The only downside to this was he couldn’t make the ceremony for my degree last year.. He had to stay in London for work reasons.
“So we’re all travelling down on Wednesday for his graduation, having a family meal, and then coming back home.”
Rachel’s husband, Neil, said: “I’m delighted they have both reached the end of their courses and they are graduating.
“But we nearly knew this would happen. We would have put money on them both graduating on the same day.
After being a stay at home mum for 14 years, Rachel decided to go to Boston college and complete an Access to Higher Education course, which gave her the equivalent of three A-Levels.
She added that it was only a matter of time before she decided to pursue a road into teaching.
“I got a job at the college with learning support and helped students with learning difficulties who were on the same course that I had completed.
“They kept telling me that I was good at it and could be a teacher. Then I saw an advert for places on the Education Studies course at Bishop Grosseteste and applied.
“It was something I’d always wanted to do. I hadn’t done well at school first time round, so to know after the Access course that I could do it was a really good feeling.”
The mum of three said she had her family to thank after a difficult four years of studying.
“The PGCE was really hard work, and I spent a lot of weekends working on it. Neil and the boys have been great because they’ve known when to give me space.
“It’s great thinking to myself that I’ve completed the course and I’m now a qualified teacher.
“Keeping up with the work and also being a full time mum was difficult, but if I can do it, anybody can.”
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Weather for Horncastle
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
