Our students and alumni
One of the aims of the mode and content of this course is to broaden the range of students who are able to study for a degree in the English Department.
We are proud of, and celebrate, the diverse range of students currently enrolled on the degree. Our students range in age from early 20s to early 70s, with a wide range of social backgrounds and experiences represented.
Most of our students work, full- or part-time; a few are retired; many have family or other commitments. Some students started the course soon after completing an A-Level or Access course, while others had been out of education for up to 40 years. This diversity is an important part of what makes any discussion on the course wide-ranging and widely informed – and we believe that it also helps make the course a shared adventure.
An award-winning programme
Damien Moran, one of our students, was an individual winner of an Adult Learner Award as part of Adult Learners' Week in May 2013.
The BA English Literature and Community Engagement was also a runner up for the prestigious Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) annual awards scheme for 2013. The UALL Awards Scheme 'recognises and celebrates projects, programmes and practices that promote lifelong learning in the university sector'. The scheme runs annually and entries are assessed on the criteria of 'creativity, innovation, sustainability, impact and transferability'.
Student profiles
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Richard Abraham
"To be honest, I think being a student has kept me younger!"
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Lee-Ann Jameson
"The community engagement part of the course also taught me how to be tolerant of others and how to facilitate a discussion with multiple opinions."
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Hannah Mahoney
"As well as meeting people I never would have met otherwise, the course has given me more than I realised in terms of how I see myself and what I’m able to do. I now know that I can do anything if I want to; it’s all about managing your time."
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Helen Thornhill
"The course is geared to developing self-confidence and self-belief. I’m certainly more confident now and much more knowledgeable about literature."
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Sue West
"A lot of life has happened for us during the years of this course, births, deaths, marriages – we’ve grown close as a result of sharing these experiences together and I’ve made some very good friends for life."
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Judith Davis
"Bristol University became my second home," says Judith. "It took me a while to get settled; at first it was scary and even though everyone spoke English it was different, systems are different, people are different but they were welcoming and all I had to do was ask if there was anything that I did not understand."
Start with something shorter
Before embarking on the full BA course, you may be interested in our short preparatory course Reading English Literature. Please see our page on short courses.