The young people leaving care and heading for uni

Many young people across the country are gearing up to spend the summer waiting for their A-level results with the prospect of going to university, but for some young care leavers, getting a university place will follow years of overcoming more hurdles than most.

"I remember I would come out of school and a social worker would say, 'hey, we're moving to a new place' and I would be whisked away," recalls 20-year-old Orianah Upland in Doncaster.

"I guess my friends at school didn't know where I went. I just disappeared with a black bag. That happened a lot."

Orianah was three-years-old when she entered the care system and she spent her childhood attending different schools.

Despite having no consistency with her education, she is now doing a national diploma in music technology, with the aim of going on to university and having a career as a performer.

In her words, she has "lots of siblings" who were also in care at different ages.

"I moved around a lot as a kid and my siblings lived everywhere," she says.

"We all got split into different placements, but we bounce off each other's experiences.

"We've all had similar, but also different experiences at the same time."

Orianah says that when she was younger, "I moved a lot during primary school, so that was a bit tough."

"Then, when I was in secondary, it was Covid, so I had to do a lot of online education. That didn't really work out for me so I re-sat my GCSEs," she says.

After that, Orianah initially enrolled on a fashion course but found it was not for her and switched to attend the Higher Rhythm music industry college in Doncaster.

"I love music and I've always sung, so I went to a college open day and thought this is really cool," she says.

"I've been there three years now and I'm doing my fourth year in October."

Orianah has high hopes for the future - and she believes that university is the key to that.

"The course I'm doing is production, but I want to go to university to learn the performance side of music," she says.

According to government statistics, just 13% of care leavers like Orianah enter higher education by their 19th birthday, compared to 45% of the wider population. The government has said its aim is to double this figure.

After being homeless for a while, Orianah now lives in supported lodgings where young people share a home with a Doncaster family to develop life skills so they can go on to live independently.

She is one of 60 young people helped by the Doncaster Housing for Young People charity, which not only has a range of accommodation for care leavers, but also offers all kinds of support - including finding a career.

Kira, 18, is also being helped by the Doncaster charity.

She has been in care for the past two years, including spending time in a residential home, and has had to be self-sufficient with her education.

She is now attempting college for the third time and says she is determined to be a social worker.

"The residential home had ups and downs," she remembers.

"There were arguments because we saw each other as family. You make amazing bonds with people, but still bicker.

"When I first went into care I was doing my GCSEs and school supported me. They asked the exam board for help and I was given an extra 10% on my marks because I couldn't concentrate properly.

"I left school and tried to go to college. I've dropped out of two colleges due to bullying, but I am going back to a third college to do health and social so I can go to university."

Kira is also in supported lodgings.

"I live with another family and they support me with how to cook and clean properly, to make me ready to live in my own place," she explains.

Her eyes are now firmly fixed on her next steps into higher education - and she says she wants to help people who find themselves in a similar position to herself.

"I'm hoping once I've finished college to go to Sheffield Hallam University to do a social work degree," she says.

"I want to work with children in care because I went into care and had help from the social workers and support workers.

"I want to do that for people in my situation and give something back."

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