Alongside looking after two young children and studying for a degree, Charlotte Harman found time to volunteer on several projects.

The 39-year-old has now won an Outstanding PLUS Award, which each year is given to just eight high achievers at the University of Bristol.

Charlotte said: “Getting the award was an amazing feeling; people having faith in me has really helped improve how I see myself.

“Coming to university was a massive change, but it’s shown me that I’m a lot stronger than I thought.

“As a single parent, I want to show my children it’s never too late to pursue your dreams and to succeed, and that it doesn't matter how old you are or what you've already done in life, you can always change courses and make a new path for yourself.”

After school, Charlotte lived in Kansas, trained as a singer and worked in a law firm. But after a divorce she found herself needing change.

“I didn’t want to get up each day, there was nothing giving me that spark anymore,” she recalled.

To gain the qualifications needed for university, Charlotte studied for an Access to Higher Education Diploma at City of Bristol College. 

Charlotte was supported by Bristol Scholars, a scheme that helps talented locals access the University and provides bursaries, mentoring and support with mental and physical health once there.

She opted to study Archaeology and Anthropology, topics that had always fascinated her, and was able to fit it around looking after her sons Marcello, aged seven, and Emilio, nine.

Now in her final year, Charlotte says she has “loved” studying at Bristol.

She has also enjoyed sharing that love with others. She volunteered with Bristol Museum, helped a charity that uses archaeology to support injured veterans, inspired children and young adults with archaeology outreach lessons and helped catalogue the University’s archaeological flora and fauna collection.

“There have been lots of times when I felt I couldn’t do it,” she said. “But the university has been really supportive. Things like their mental health support have helped me get sorted, move forward and be the person I think I can be. That’s been invaluable.”

Winning the award was the “icing on the cake”.

Charlotte said: “When my category came up at the award ceremony my eldest slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it.

“He said, ‘if you win, we can we get ice cream to celebrate, and if you don’t, we can get ice cream to cheer you up!’”

For her dissertation, Charlotte analysed charred botanical remains, including wheat and oats, from The Anarchy period - 1138AD to 1153 - that revealed fascinating data on medieval diet and agricultural practices.

“It’s a link across time,” she said. “It’s called archaeobotany and it’s what I now want to pursue. I get giddy talking about it.

“My aim now is to get ‘Doctor’ in front of my name before I’m 45.”

The University of Bristol’s PLUS Award helps students build their skills and make themselves more employable through extracurricular activities like volunteering. Each year more than 1,000 students achieve the PLUS Award and eight are picked for an Outstanding PLUS Award.

Amber Pinckney, Bristol PLUS Award Manager, said: “Charlotte’s university journey is really inspiring.

“That she found time to help so many others while also raising two children and acing her degree makes her a very worthy recipient of our Outstanding PLUS Award.”