When Sam Shakeshaft (Computer Science 2023) shares his story, he reflects with sadness, but also demonstrates hope and faith of the potential to change direction.

Sam was not in mainstream education between the ages of 12 and 17, and moved into a children’s care home aged 15. He had a challenging upbringing, was unsettled as a teenager, and made mistakes, requiring interventions which ultimately helped him to turn his life around.

Education was an avenue to propel him forward built on personal relationships and friendships, and he has since mostly reconciled with his family and is now focusing on the future.

“As with most of these stories, it’s just sad from top to bottom,” Sam says.

“Once I started going into my teenage years my brain became warped. The situation hit complete breaking point and was unsustainable. In many ways I hold a lot of the responsibility; some of the things I did as a teenager were very harmful to people around me. But it’s a very complicated, multifaceted situation.”

Understandably, Sam does not want to disclose the details. But he says bearing responsibility provided ownership of his own situation. And he has seized his opportunity to regain control of his life.

“Finding the scraps of things you have control over – and sometimes that’s finding what your mistakes were – gives you an out, a route forwards,” Sam adds.

“I have this duty, something inside me that says every moment of my life from now on has to be spent becoming the person that is capable of fixing this.”

From the age of 12, Sam was either not in education, or taught in care schools. Shrewsbury Sixth Form College was Sam’s first formal education for six years.

“I was transitioning out of care at that point, living by myself,” Sam says. “I had to pull myself together and mature very, very quickly. I had a lot of things I had to take from it in order to catch up.”

Sam did not initially do further maths A-Level. He was quickly identified by teachers as having potential, took up further maths and an Oxbridge application was mooted. Soon, Sam could not see himself anywhere other than Cambridge.

He has thrived at Gonville & Caius College and Cambridge, including launching a Game Development Society. Entering final year, his focus is on the future and a career in game development is the dream.

“I love the course and I’ve loved my time here,” Sam says. “I want to take a year ‘off’, spending all of my time doing game development, trying to launch something.”

The people have been the only reason I’ve made it this far. 

Sam’s first week at Caius was as a Bridging Week student, and he has worked as an access ambassador ever since, including the past two Bridging Weeks, easing the transition to Caius for invited students. His access work is inspired by personal experience.

He adds: “The people have been the only reason I’ve made it this far. I remember even small interactions with carers who didn’t work with me very often, but they said one thing that mattered.

“This outreach work does matter – 99 percent of it won’t matter for more than a day for most people, but even that’s something. And then it’s worth it for the one percent that it strikes a chord with, to improve their life.

“It’s also important to believe in yourself. The number one mistake people make is not trying – not applying.”

A proud moment for Sam came in July, when Caius hosted pupils from years 10 to 12 attending London Virtual Schools – a model which promotes the educational achievement of children and young people who are in or have previously been in care – and accompanying adults for a two-day residential.

“I was so emotional during a lot of it; it was incredible,” Sam says. “No two kids in care have the same story, but you can still see so much of yourself in those kids. It really does make a difference.”

Faith is also important to Sam, who is a Jehovah’s Witness and was baptised in February.

“I’ve found faith after all of this ‘stuff’ happened,” he adds. “I’ve already done all the personality stuff and made myself the person I wanted to make myself, and I find it pretty hard to imagine how I could be more happy with my life. 

“Faith, for me, isn’t fulfilling something. It has this much deeper connection for me. It’s about what I hold true and how I’m going to live my life.”

Sam is pictured with his teddy bear, Blobdei