Mary Ainsworth was three when her father died and five when she was taken into foster care when her mother got too ill to look after her and her siblings. In the years that followed she went back home then back into foster care and lived in a homeless hostel for a time as a teenager.

Through all this the one constant in Mary’s life was school. She’d arrive as early as she could in the morning and leave as late as possible, frequently taking refuge in libraries before going home.

She passed her exams whilst living in a homeless hostel on housing benefit and income support and got into Wrexham University. The only member of her family to get a degree Mary went on to achieve a masters and qualify as a teacher with a PGCE and now works back where she first graduated at Wrexham. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.

Now aged 30 Mary wants to encourage other care leavers to apply to university and let them know about their background so they can get all the help available. She said the support available can help build confidence and networks as well as academic achievement after a childhood of upheaval and that no one should feel university is out of reach if they want to go.

As an entrepreneurship assistant at Wrexham University Mary helps students who want to set up their own businesses. She said it’s a dream job for the little girl who grew up in and out of foster care.

“As a young person before I started studying at Wrexham, I was living in a hostel in Manchester for two years – and a month before my degree was due to start, I had to leave the hostel as my time there was up. If it wasn’t for me making my personal circumstances known, I would have ended up homeless as I had nowhere to go, at that time.

“Thankfully, the university allowed me to move into halls a month early. But without that option, as hard as it is to say out loud, I don’t know where I’d have gone. I’m just so glad that I plucked up the courage to ask for help and speak to student services about my background.”

Mary is urging young people with care experience to ask for the help that they need: “Many young people from care-experienced backgrounds also don’t feel that further and higher education is within their grasp but it really is, care leavers should be able to aim high and fulfil their potential.”

Looking back she says growing up was very tough at times, especially been separated from her siblings, but she is now back in touch with her mother and re-building her relationships. She said she knows her mother was unwell and it was not her fault she was unable to look after her children on her own.

One of eight siblings, Mary was five when she was first taken into foster care for a few years with her little brother and separated from their older siblings. After a time back with her mother Mary was taken into foster care again aged 11 but this time on her own and without her brother.

This was tougher but Mary had already decided school was “a lifeline” and that she wanted to go to university. Returning home to live with her mother at the family home in Manchester for a while she then left of her own accord to live in a homeless hostel aged 16.

“The house was in a state of distress. It was not a nice environment, but for me it was normal and not wrong.

“School was my lifeline. Growing up my primary was just around the corner and school was very supportive.

“We did a food shop and my mum always made sure there was food there. But after the second time I was in care it became a lot harder and there would be no food and we all had free school meals.”

Mary said it was tough being separated from her siblings and wonders “if we had not all been pulled part would we all be more stable and functioning?" But she says she no longer blames her mother, knows she was ill and that “more could have been done to support her and her family”.

Leaving Bury College on day aged 16 she went into a charity called Connections “broke down” and asked if they could help her live away form home. Put in touch with a homeless women’s charity Mary was moved into a hostel with three other women in their 20s.

“I left a letter on my mum’s table, switched of my phone and left. Eight months after I left my little brother was taken back into care - the guilt I felt leaving...”

Passing A level art, drama, English literature and English language, Mary went on to Wrexham University to where she got an art and design degree, then on to a PGCE. Her first job was teaching on the art and design course before getting her current job back at Wrexham.

“Education has been my saviour. I don’t know what i would have done without it.

I got into Cardiff and Liverpool through UCAS but someone suggested Wrexham and when I went to their open day they had an open application and a care leaver process so I was flagged a care leaver.

“When I got there I was the type of student who got in at 8am and left at 8pm. I was not there for the parties.”

Not surprisingly Mary got a first and then did an MA in art practice and her PGCE. She said she loves her job and helping students and hopes sharing her story will encourage other care leavers to apply to university and also talk about their experiences and get the help that is on offer for them.

“At first as a care leaver you think uni is inaccessible but university is so important and not just about academia. University is about confidence building too.

“You don’t need a degree to succeed but the role models and support system at university are amazing. I am 30 now and my mum says she’s proud of me and I am re-building relationships.”

She is encouraging candidates to flag that they are care leavers on applications and once at university. There is a box candidates can tick on applications to show they are care leavers.

Wrexham University has its own dedicated support package for care-experienced students. Some of which includes:

• A named contact who will support the student throughout their studies, provide guidance and information on accessing support services, and organise regular one-to-one support meetings.
• 50% discount on first-year accommodation costs in university owned halls of residence, if these are not covered by the student’s local authority.
• Up to a £1,000 cash bursary, paid in instalments during each academic year.
• Careers and employability support, with lifelong support for current students and graduates of Wrexham University

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