Student Profile: Mike Holcroft

English and Film Studies

Age: 39
From: Skelmersdale

A former civil servant who left his job to study at Edge Hill University has earned a first-class honours degree.

Father-of-two Mike Holcroft, 39, from Skelmersdale, crammed his studies around school runs and bedtime stories to achieve what his tutors describe as an ‘exceptional first’ in his joint honours degree in English and Film Studies.

After working in the civil service for 20 years, Mike took voluntary redundancy and decided to enrol on Edge Hill’s access course, Fastrack, at the age of 36. “Going to university was always at the back of my mind as something I needed to do. It was a big step to take, returning to full-time education after all that time, particularly when you’ve two children to consider. But I’m really glad I took it.”

As a film enthusiast, Film Studies was a natural choice, but his decision to combine it with English came after completing the Fastrack course.

“I’d always been pretty good at English at school, but since I’m such a huge film buff, I was focused mainly on studying just this area. However, after taking several English classes on the access course, I found I really enjoyed it, so combined Literature, Language and Film together.”

Mike credits his ability to balance family life with studying to “being organised, planning ahead and doing a few all-nighters”, with the support from Edge Hill staff playing an important part.

“The support from staff in the Department of English and Film Studies was fantastic – they were always really obliging, both with my work and personally. I couldn’t have asked for more or better help.”

After graduation, Mike is currently in discussions to embark on a PhD, and wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else other than Edge Hill.

“It’s a fantastic place to study and I just don’t think I could find anywhere better. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else – it’s a just a great place to be.”