Jason Jets in from Jamaica...Just!

Hurricanes, lost luggage, cancelled flights ? it's a miracle that Jamaican student Jason Francis ever fulfilled his dream of sampling English university life.

But fulfil it he did and now, at the end of the second year of his Law and Criminology degree course at Edge Hill University, he can look back at his earlier adventures with a wry smile.

"My Freshers? Week was spent in the middle of a pretty big hurricane back home," said 24-year-old Jason, who transferred his BSc Criminology credits from the University of West Indies to Edge Hill. "This meant I had to put my flight back a week, my bags then went missing en route, and I had to take a number of detours after I had flights cancelled. I lost count of the number of times Edge Hill?s International Manager Judith Cooke came to meet me at the airport only for me never to arrive ? it was as if someone was trying to tell me that I shouldn?t be coming to England after all, but in truth it motivated me even more."

Once he finally set foot on English soil however Jason?s luck began to change and he is now revelling in his studies.

"I'd wanted to come to Edge Hill for quite some time ? the international team there used to send me newsletters and even birthday cards way before I enrolled on the course. I looked at other universities but Edge Hill were by far the most proactive in keeping in contact, and, along with the cheaper cost of living in the North West, there was only really one choice for me."

Along with the country itself ? even down to the "cooler" weather ? Jason is also very complimentary about his law and criminology course which was rated best in the country for its teaching in the 2005 National Student Survey.

"I?m loving everything about my course, the area really interests me, the teaching is first class and all the tutors are more than happy to take time out to discuss matters with the students," he added. "I?ve also made lots of friends, I?ll be the student assistant for my hall for the second year running when I come back after the summer and I?m on the doorstep of so many different tourist places across Europe ? it's perfect!"

Once he?s completed his degree, Jason hopes to take an MA in Criminological Forensics before returning home to Kingston to "give something back".

"The crime rate in Jamaica is really high, so I'd like to put my studies to good use by getting a job in the country?s security system or in politics to work towards making things safer. That won?t be for a few years yet though, so in the meantime I want to make the most of living and studying here in England."