The longest journey begins with a single step . . .

Long long ago (2008) in a galaxy far far away (a finance office in Hamilton), a young (27 yr old) man sat quietly contemplating his future. Having worked in a multitude of roles (Croupier, Sales Manager, Art Auctioneer, Account Manager), at home and abroad, self employed and in corporate environments, and with the 'credit crunch' looming ever nearer, bringing with it the prospect of redundancy, the young chap in question decided to take steps to try to ensure himself a more stable life. A life where he could use the many skills he had learned along the way, in tandem with his intellect and tenacity to forge a career for himself in a respected profession. With this in mind he decided to return to the world of education.

His initial investigation into the academic landscape of the West of Scotland brought to his attention an evening course ran by the University of Strathclyde designed to help adults to return to education.  The pre-entry certificate course (http://www.strath.ac.uk/cll/alp/access/) seemed to be the perfect solution, as for a mere £200 (£300 in 2011/12) and the sacrifice of one night per week, for a mere eight months, our protagonist was promised the opportunity to earn a place studying at Strathclyde University in the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

So, with a spring in his step and a smile on his face he cheerfully applied for a place on the pre-entry certificate course and to his delight was accepted. Contained within the initial literature was the promise that if a student achieved a sufficiently high grade for the course (65%) and had chosen to study the correct subjects (Law & English & Sociology/Psychology/ Politics), entry to the LL.B course at Strathclyde University Law School was highly likely. While entry was possible to study a wide range of other subjects none of the others on offer demanded such a high pass mark, so with this in mind our protagonist decided to aim for entry to the Law School, reasoning that if he could earn a place studying law he was assured entry to any other course.

In order to fund his new adventure the young man was reliably informed by the good people of Strathclyde University that he would qualify for an ILA account.  "What's that?" he asked with eyes like saucers, and was delighted to discover that a mysterious benefactor (ILA Scotland: http://www.ilascotland.org.uk/ILA+Homepage.htm ) was prepared to finance his academic adventure, now all that remained was to go to school and fill his head with the knowledge that would propel him onwards to a degree course  . . . .