Peterborough woman gets first class honours in midwifery

Gemma Brown, 38, from Peterborough, graduated with first-class honours in midwifery from ARU Peterborough, completing her studies while raising a family and working part-time.

Ms Brown left school at 16 with limited qualifications and began her career at the Peterborough Telegraph as a sales and marketing assistant before moving into an administrative role with the NHS at 20.

At 30, after gaining experience on children’s wards and in maternity care, she decided to pursue a more clinical role within the NHS.

Ms Brown said: "I worked in admin in the NHS from the age of 20, and later realised that I wanted to stay in the NHS, but in a more clinical role."

She began by studying for GCSEs in science and maths through evening classes, followed by an Access to Higher Education course.

Ms Brown enrolled at ARU Peterborough when it opened in 2022.

She said: "Leaving school at 16, I didn’t get great GCSE results and no A-Levels.

"When I turned 30, I realised I would need to sort that out if I wanted to become a midwife.

"My husband has supported me throughout, which has allowed me to change my career and enable me to study.

"Our son is now 13, and spinning everything with running a home, mum duties and studying on top of full-time placements was really hard, especially as I worked part-time jobs alongside it all."

She said: "I was born in Peterborough, and was thrilled to see ARU Peterborough open.

"The opportunity to study on my doorstep was fantastic.

"I think it is great for the children of Peterborough to grow up having this opportunity, as well as mature students like myself who would find it hard to go further afield with a settled family."