'Working in the classroom and looking at the teacher, I thought I could become a teacher too. I realised I had the practical knowledge, but what I hadn't got was the theory. I felt I needed to be doing something more, but I couldn't just leave my work and go off to a college somewhere to take a degree. I need my pay packet at the end of the week.
'This degree course is the way someone in my position can get into the profession. Some youngsters go off to college and get into debt and the pressures get so great they drop out. I could not have done this course when my children were younger as I would have had to pay for childcare.
'I know the course is more intense this way. It is very different having to write academic assignments and to read for a reason, but we all support each other. There is always someone you can phone.
'In a way what we are doing is on the lines of early years learning. We have learned about child development and education in a practical way, in the same way young children learn, and now we are doing the theory side.
'I find the course fascinating but it is tough. I do four days a week in school and one day at the training centre and an evening session there twice a month. Also I am doing my maths GCSE. Five of us are doing a maths class one night a week. You have to be very structured in how you organise your time. Good time management is very important. Unlike full-time students, you cannot spend ages on an assignment.
'The school has to recommend you. They are very helpful. I can always go to one of the teachers if I want an essay proof-read.'