After a frustrating time at school, Bethany completed a one year beauty therapy course at West Suffolk College. Deciding salons were not really for her, she tried retail, factory, gardening and cleaning jobs none of which she found fulfilling.
When a friend told her about the BTEC courses in Animal Management at the College of West Anglia's campus in Milton, near Cambridge, Bethany decided it was time to take the plunge and go back to her studies.
"It was too good an opportunity to miss, and I've loved every minute so far," she says. She is now just about to finish the first year of the BTEC National Diploma in Animal Management, having already completed a first course in basic animal care and a GCSE conversion.
"Getting £30 Adult Learning Grant every week has made all the difference financially," she says. "It's a 40 minute drive there and back and I use my grant to pay for my car, petrol and running costs. It's been a real help to me."
Bethany is studying 18 modules including animal welfare, management, ecology and working with wildlife - and when she finishes in June 2009, she's hoping to fulfil a dream of short term work with elephants and other wild animals in Africa.
"There's a wildlife park in Namibia that I want to help in - if I can raise enough money to pay for the trip," she says. "That really would be a dream come true and I'm already thinking how I can get sponsored to go there. Unfortunately there's no Adult Learning Grant in Africa!"
If you are thinking about going back to college it's time to start looking at your options. The Adult Learning Grant, which offers adults up to £30 per week to go back to learning, could help you - to find out if you are eligible visit www.direct.gov.uk/alg or call 0800 121 8989 today.
