Mum and twins graduate same university together

Sarah Chappell and her twin daughters Megan and Abbey Douglas-Chappell studied at home while working

A mother and her twin daughters have celebrated graduating together on the same day from the same university.

Sarah Chappell and her twin daughters Megan and Abbey Douglas-Chappell, 23, all graduated from the Open University (OU), in Milton Keynes.

The family all studied together at their home in Cambridge while working in full-time jobs.

Ms Chappell said: "It was amazing to graduate with my girls. We have come so far, and I am so proud of all they have achieved at such a young age."

She is a senior project manager for a biotechnology organisation, and was awarded a master of science degree in systems thinking in practice, which she said she used every day in her work.

"We found the OU a great experience and it enabled us to work, be at home, further our education and increase our employability," she said.

"With the rising costs of brick universities this gave both my girls a chance to stay at home, work and complete their studies. They have significantly less debt than many of their peers."

Her daughter Megan achieved a first class environmental studies degree while working in business continuity at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.

She now she has a job as a business support assistant for a sustainable urban planning company and said the family's "weekend study sessions together kept us motivated".

"We pushed each other through tough days so it never felt lonely with the long days and nights at the books."

Her non-identical twin Abbey, passed a law degree at the OU and has now been accepted on a postgraduate solicitor apprenticeship at Mills & Reeve in Cambridge, where she was already working as a paralegal.

"During Covid-19 I went away to a brick university and struggled with the isolation," she said.

"Therefore coming home to study at the Open University provided me with an opportunity to study flexibly whilst gaining work experience in a legal environment.

"It helped me prepare to balance study and a career," Abbey said.