Peter Montgomery

In his fifties, Peter Montgomery (Sociology with Social Policy, 2004) returned to education to study at Bangor University.

My time at Bangor....

“As a child, I held no vision of attending university. As a young man I drifted from job to job, because I had left school with no qualifications. Following a period of five years of unemployment, I eventually became a care worker; working in a Psychiatric hospital, in Cheshire; and later I was transferred to an EMI unit, also in Cheshire. A work colleague encouraged me to return to study, so that I could gain some qualifications. My first step was to gain a GCSE in Sociology, where I achieved a Grade ‘A’. This was followed by ‘A’ Level in the same subject, reaching grade C.

I was then encouraged by my tutor to apply to Bangor University; as a mature student. I was accepted and spent five years at UWB University. My field of study was Sociology, with Social Policy. Following my graduation, a tutor encouraged me to apply for a Post-Graduation course in Social Work; which I did; gaining my Dip SW.

When I had graduated again; I managed to attain a position of Social Worker, with Denbighshire County Council. I spent nine enjoyable years in the job; and I honestly feel that I helped many vulnerable people during my employment with the council.

I enjoyed my time at Bangor; being a man in his fifties, the course made me feel younger than I was at the time, and I relished the challenge. At the end of my first year, which had included a module on Criminology; I missed the work so much, that at the end of the Semester, I wrote a paper which encompassed many of the theories that I had studied during the year; linking the theories to actual cases that had been in the news. I called the paper ‘Deviance and its Implications’.

I am now retired, and I have just had a novel published, called Priest in a Suitcase (available on Amazon). I am now working on my second novel. I am particularly pleased with the book; why? because it deals with the trials of community life, on a new Council Housing Estate; and the work of a young priest to bring the community together; which I consider as very important at this time.”