University of Chichester student becomes nurse at 60

Angela Tester-Bedford, a 60-year-old from Storrington, spent 28 years as a senior environment health and safety manager before retraining as a nurse at the University of Chichester.

The decision came following the death of her mother from motor neurone disease in 2010.

Ms Tester-Bedford said: "The last thing she said to me is I want you to always follow your dreams.

"Then I made the decision I wanted to be a nurse."

Now in her third year of study, she has secured a community nursing post with Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust starting in September and has been awarded one of only 20 funded places on the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s Early Career Nurses Leadership Programme.

She said: "I thought about doing nursing when I was younger, but it was not the right time.

"I was in the corporate world after having my children.

"No-one in my family has gone to university so I had no idea.

"I thought they wouldn’t want an older person.

"I came to an open day at Chichester, and I said to my husband I just want to come here.

"I have loved every minute of it."

As a nursing ambassador for the university, Ms Tester-Bedford is helping to challenge misconceptions about nursing and higher education.

She said: "Everybody thinks university is for 18-21 years olds but it’s not.

"I realised I have got all this life experience.

"Everybody’s journey is different."

Dr Nita Muir, head of the School of Nursing and Allied Health at the University of Chichester, praised her determination.

Dr Muir said: "We are all proud of Angela’s achievements, her journey shows us that it’s never too late to follow your dream."

Ms Tester-Bedford said she will be sad to leave the university but grateful for the experience.

She said: "I’m going to be really sad to leave here.

"It has been so amazing, I can’t thank them enough.

"I can say I’ve followed my dream; I have achieved it."