Last updated 16:14, Thursday, 02 October 2008

IMPRESSIVE: Rick Lucas has proved he can handle the academic side by gaining distinctions across the board in a Foundation Degree in Construction at Furness College

HE left school with no qualifications, but one of Barrow’s best known businessmen is now a model student.
Leisure boss Rick Lucas is achieving distinctions across the board on a foundation degree in construction.
The hands-on owner of the popular Princess Selandia entertainment boat has just started the third and final year of the part-time Furness College course.
And the entrepreneur is an enthusiastic convert to academia. The married, dad-of-two said: “You are never too old to learn something new and my advice to anyone thinking of going back to college is simple – just go ahead and do it.”
A time-served mechanic, engineer and self-taught builder, Mr Lucas has returned to college to prove something to himself.
The mature student said: “I’m the world’s worst speller and I left school with no qualifications.
“People like me tend to express themselves in different ways and when it comes to building I have taught myself how to do just about everything that I needed to know in the last 25 years. But I wanted the bits of paper to back it up. I wanted to prove to myself that I could also handle the academic side of things. “
College lecturers were impressed with Mr Lucas’ innovative project at the end of last term to design and fund a hypothetical state-of-the-art, carbon neutral sports centre.
He said: “I set out to design a building, which would be as long as the Empire State Building is tall.”
After preparing a business plan, sourcing government grants and setting up a company, he advised that the college could actually build it at no cost to themselves.
Mr Lucas said: “The only criticism I got was that I bombarded them with too much information.”
Studying with younger people can be a daunting prospect for some mature students, but Mr Lucas said: “Sitting in a classroom with 18 to 35 year olds might put some older people off.
“But you should not worry too much about it, just go ahead and do it.”
The Foundation Degree in Construction is awarded by the University of Central Lancashire. And the businessman will be working hard to maintain his high grades.
Mr Lucas intends to enrol on a top-up course to gain a full degree after completing this qualification.
The student has completed numerous building-related courses such as working at heights and asbestos.
He is also an A1 Assessor in Construction, and is studying for his Internal Verifier qualification.
Janice Nichols from Cumbria Higher Learning, which promotes progression opportunities into higher education, says Mr Lucas epitomises the spirit of life long learning.
She said: “His fantastic story shows that people who have drive, determination and interest can access higher education courses at any time of life.
“And colleges are much more open these days to accepting life experience as an entry qualifications to foundation degrees.”