University is a family affair for Ian and Tony

Exploring History at the University of Teesside has been a family affair for Ian Brelsford and Tony Standing. For the step-father and step-son, both from Redcar, have studied alongside each other during the last three years, and completed their BA (Hons) degrees in History this summer. They will both graduate today.

They are not the only family members studying at Teesside, as Ian’s wife and Tony’s mother Sheena Standing, 48, is enrolled on a BSc (Hons) degree in Computer Studies. Sheena will be in the audience when her son and husband graduate from the University at Middlesbrough Town Hall later this year.

Tony, 26, was first to sign up for the History degree. He originally completed two years of a Business Management degree before switching to History. Tony said: “History was something that always interested me when I was at Secondary School, we had a fascinating teacher who delivered the subject of the Russian revolution with such enthusiasm. On the degree I really enjoyed the modern European history, it’s relevant to us today.

“I was a bit surprised when Ian enrolled on the degree, it was a last minute decision. We studied most of our modules together, it was good to have someone to bounce ideas off. It took the lecturers a while to realise the family connection, but they treated us very much as individuals.”

Tony will begin a Post-Graduate Course in September, with the aim of qualifying as a Secondary History teacher. He has previous teaching experience with the Territorial Army, including seven months teaching Information Technology in 1999 to army regulars, in war-torn Bosnia. Tony added: “It was a good experience, although most of the time I was confined to a factory where you could still see the bullet holes.”

Ian, 55, is a former pupil of Nunthorpe School in York, and then worked as a freight train guard for thirty years, before retiring at the age of 49. He moved to Redcar in 1996 after meeting Tony’s mother. Ian said: “I came to the University with some trepidation, but without doubt Teesside is accommodating towards mature students. There was a different age range amongst the students and all the lecturers were very approachable, they would always say hello in the corridor. In the computer age I was apprehensive about using them but I became quite conversant with the technology.

“I enjoyed all of the degree, such as the history of Christianity and again, like Tony, modern European history. I also enjoyed my final-year dissertation on the Algerian Crisis of 1954-1962. You could see the cause and effect of events I personally remember living through. Although Tony and I worked in the same room, we wrote completely different essays. Although there was one that followed the same pattern and the same theme, but we didn’t copy!”

Sheena said: “I’m very proud of them both.”

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