Three generations, one university: a family’s 60-year Brighton story

When Charlotte Slaughter graduated this summer, she became the latest member of her family to complete a degree at the University of Brighton – continuing a story that began more than 60 years ago.

Charlotte’s grandfather, Derek, started studying Mechanical Engineering at what was then Brighton Polytechnic in 1962. More than three decades later, his son Paul and wife Victoria both became Brighton students – and met there.

Now Charlotte and her sister Rosie have followed them. Charlotte has graduated with a BSc(Hons) in Biomedical Science, while Rosie is entering her third year studying BSc(Hons) Nursing (Child).

But for the family, Brighton has been about much more than university degrees. It has shaped careers, friendships, relationships and where they chose to build their lives.

Derek’s time at Brighton Polytechnic began after he started his working life as an apprentice toolmaker. He remembers the very different experience of being a student in the 1960s, including lecturers dictating notes so quickly that, he jokes, his already-poor handwriting became even worse. 

Left to right: Paul Slaughter, Victoria Slaughter, Charlotte Slaughter, Rosie Slaughter and Derek Slaughter

Charlotte and Rosie Slaughter

His studies helped him progress from the drawing office and production management into procurement and eventually to directorship, overseeing teams of around 90 workers in both Wales and Southwick.

More than 30 years later, his son Paul arrived at Brighton in 1996 to study Mathematics Education. But it was during his second year that his life took an unexpected turn when he met Victoria.

Victoria had moved to Brighton from Ely in Cambridgeshire to study Nursing. She met Paul through a mutual friend, and the pair went on to marry and have four daughters – two of whom would follow in their footsteps to study at the University Brighton.

For Victoria, the move to the south coast was a significant one – and it ultimately changed where she would call home.

She said: “Brighton gave me the qualifications I needed to be able to work, and also to develop as a nurse post-registration. It gave me lifelong friendships, but also friendships that made me see the world in a different, better way.”

Those friendships were so important that Victoria chose to remain in Sussex rather than return to Ely after graduating. She later returned to the university for further professional development, including her return-to-practice studies.

She believes the university’s sense of individuality and support for students has remained a defining part of the experience.

She said: “It seems to me that you can truly be yourself at Brighton, and it isn’t about acceptance, it is much more of a celebration of individuality and personality. We both had a good experience at Brighton, so it was easy to recommend the university to our daughters. The outstanding thing for me as a parent was the care for the new student who needed a bit of extra support. I thought that was outstanding.”

Paul, who went on to become a maths teacher and, 26 years later, an Executive Principal overseeing schools across the south-east, says Brighton changed the course of his life in more ways than one.

He said: “I think it is the combination of the university and the city. Brighton has always had a real sense of individuality. It is somewhere where you can be yourself and find your own path. That is certainly what happened to me. I arrived thinking I knew where I was heading, changed course and ended up taking a completely different route.”

“For me, Brighton became much more than somewhere I studied. It was where I started my career and met my wife. So, quite simply, Brighton changed the direction of my entire life.”

It was perhaps inevitable that Brighton would become part of his daughters’ lives too – although Charlotte insists it wasn't always her plan.

She said: “My parents always encouraged me to consider Brighton and told me what a good university it was, but at the time I was adamant I wasn’t going to go there.”

Charlotte initially went to Keele University, but eventually decided to leave and transfer to Brighton. Before university, she had taken part in the BrightMed widening participation programme, run by Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), which gave her an early experience of the university and its staff.

She was particularly struck by how welcoming and supportive the Brighton staff she met through the programme were – an impression that stayed with her.

She said: “I remember sitting in my room at Keele feeling really unhappy and thinking back to how welcoming and friendly everyone I had met at Brighton had been. That really influenced my decision to transfer.”

Once she arrived, Charlotte threw herself into university life, becoming Vice President of the university’s Surf Society in her final year. She made close friendships through the society, travelled with friends and became involved in life beyond the classroom.

She says the supportive staff and opportunities to gain practical experience have also stayed with her, and she has now secured a position as a Senior Medical Laboratory Assistant at Chichester Hospital, providing a trainee route towards becoming a Biomedical Scientist.

She said: “I’m really excited to start my new job, but I know I’m going to miss university enormously. I’ve got so involved in student life that it’s become such a big part of my life. I’ve also had such supportive lecturers and so many opportunities to get hands-on experience, which I know will stay with me as I start my career.”

For Rosie, who is now entering her third year of Paediatric Nursing, being the third generation of her family to study at Brighton is special – but she is also enjoying creating her own story.

She said: “Being a third-generation student at my university is special, knowing that members of my family studied here before me. It’s nice to share that connection while still having my own experiences and making my own memories along the way.”

For a family whose Brighton story began in 1962, the university has become a kind of family landmark – connecting generations who experienced very different versions of the city and the university, but found something they all wanted to keep hold of.

Paul said: “Vicki and I met at Brighton, so to see two of our daughters become Brighton students and graduates feels like a lovely continuation of our story.

“They have obviously made their own memories and had very different experiences from ours, but it is great that we now have this shared connection to the university.

“I think that is why I will always feel such a strong connection to the place.”

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