Left school with zero qualifications.

[McBounty]

Hi everyone.

I left school at 16 (12 years ago now) with no qualifications at all. It was because I was pregnant and left home.
I won't bore you with the back story.

I still only have the one DC. DH (DS Dad) and I are still together. He is a teacher and doing very well. I have been a SAHM for many years due to home educating our DS for the past few years. He is autistic and struggled in a mainstream school. Again, I won't go in to the back story.

I would love to go in to further education, but I have nothing at all behind me. No previous jobs and no education. It dawned on me a few days ago and really upset me. DH joined the army shortly after we had DS so we moved around the country with him for 8 years before settling back home, where DH became a teacher. I just never had the time before to do anything for myself.

DS will be starting a special school after Christmas, so I can finally look in to what I want to do next. My Q is, where do I even look? Who would accept me? Do I have any chance of making it in life? (I would love to be a midwife or a chef)

Any guidance or support would be forever grateful. I want to make something of myself.

You are only 28. So many people these days go back to college, retrain, start new professions in 30s and 40s. So you are not too late.

Best option would be to a further education college and probably an access course. These are for people like yourself who don’t have formal education and want to get back into it. Have a google and see if you can get the contact details for admissions and see if you can talk to someone about your options.

Best of luck, but you can definitely do this!

Can you do adult evening classes for GCSE Maths & English?
Or try and get some work experience paid or unpaid for something you like doing?
I think you should see somebody like a careers adviser at a college to see what options you have and what qualifications you'd need / courses you could attend.

I think you have every chance of making something of yourself.
I would start by thinking hard whether chef or midwife is what you want to do (very different!) as the action you would need to take would be quite different.
Then just be brave, phone the further education college and speak to someone.
There are access courses and entry level courses that would be relevant for both of those.

You might need to start a step below and access course, best thing is to speak to your local college. Lots of people start education later in life, it’s no big deal. 28 is young, you light live to 100!

Did you leave before gcses? Maths and English gcse are available free at fe colleges for those who never passed. You could also enquire about Access courses which can lead onto vocational and degree courses.

Yes, I left before doing my GCSE's.

Great, I will look in to that.

Best of luck I know a lady who left school with nowt and started fe courses in her late forties and qualified as a nurse in her fifties. You have plenty of time! Go for it.

I know someone a similar age to you who has had 6 children then gone back to college to start doing the health and social care qualifications which will eventually allow her to begin training to be a midwife. Start off with getting your English and Maths GCSE's at your local college, the college will have someone who can advise you on what your next steps should be.