Uni on Hold

Available for over a year

17-year-old Kira was caring for her mother when she was offered a place at Cambridge University. She was hugely excited but could she really take up the offer? Her mother was bipolar, diabetic, virtually bed-bound and hugely dependent on her. If she were to go, she would be the first person from her family to go to university and, having missed out on her teenage years, she could finally have fun. Anoushka was also longing for University and was keen to find her feet away from home. She applied to Cambridge but had doubts about the ethnic mix and whether she'd be accepted in a group she found far from diverse. As the start of term loomed she did a sudden about turn and started thinking about a move North. With Coronavirus striking as she entered her second term of studies, she's had to reconsider her direction and what might happen next. Grace Dent, who introduces the programme, had followed both Kira and Anoushka in earlier programmes. Both girls elaborate on their stories and take listeners with them as they embark on journeys they hadn't initially foreseen. Their experiences are being shared by so many young people worried about the future and what might happen at Universities across the UK when the next academic term begins. Produced by Sarah Bowen and Sue Mitchell