'Mum had the best grade as we graduated together'

A mother and daughter have celebrated a double win for their family after they both graduated from the same university course.

Stephanie Kennedy and daughter Mia both studied at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancashire, with the latter earning a 2:1 degree and her mother scooping a First.

"My mum was better than me in everything," joked Mia, who like her mother studied Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing.

"I didn't believe mum was going to join the course at first as she was always saying she was going to uni but she never did. Everyone was shocked in freshers week as nobody expected a mother and daughter on the same course."

Stephanie, 52, said: "As a working mother of three daughters, I had always postponed doing things for myself.

"I have never believed in myself much and my confidence in academic learning was low."

Mia, 21, added: "Mum gives so much to her family and never does anything for herself."

Stephanie told how her dream began after attending university open days with her eldest daughter.

But it only became a reality a few years later when a neighbour who worked at the university mentioned a "fast-track" intensive short programme to help mature students return to learning.

The pair, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, said they would commute together for their course but had their own circles of friends, although Stephanie earned the affectionate nickname of "Mama Hen" among Mia's friends.

Mia said studying with her mum was a "special and unique" experience, adding: "My mum loved studying more than me."

Stephanie said: "This has been the hardest thing I have ever done but it's been worth every second.

"To anyone who has doubts like I did, age is no barrier - you are never too old as I once thought."

And Stephanie has no desire to stop there - she is returning to Edge Hill next term to embark on a Post Graduate Certificate in Primary Education.