When students graduated from Westminster College in Oxford in 1968 with a Certificate in Education (Cert Ed), little did they know more than 50 years later would they be graduating again - this time with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.

Keith Eaton, former King William’s College student, and Sandy Kinvig, who attended Buchan School, attended Westminster College between 1965 and 1968.

However, in 2000, the college became the Westminster Institute of Education, a school of Oxford Brookes University, and has since been fully absorbed into the university.

A review of the workload the previous Cert Ed students did versus the new BA students found that they did the same amount, so those who had been previously awarded Cert Ed’s between 1960 and 1980 were offered the opportunity to graduate with a BA.

Both Mr Eaton and Mrs Kinvig grew up on the island.

Mrs Kinvig was born in Port St Mary, and her parents lived in Port Erin, while Keith Eaton’s father owned a cycle shop in Castletown for many years.

Speaking about the September 4 graduation - which was initially delayed because of the pandemic, and then was streamed on Zoom in part for family and friends around the world to view, but also due to the limited numbers allowed in the venue itself - Mrs Kinvig described the day as ’really nice’. She said: ’Of course, most of us are 70 plus now, and some of us aren’t with us anymore obviously, but it was lovely seeing everybody and at least getting dressed up.

’Normally at these occasions, you get your cap and the gown and the hood actually at the university on the day, but because of Covid they actually sent them to our houses.

’We had them about a week before so you could choose a nice sunny day and take some in a really nice setting just in case it was chucking it down with rain.

’One of my colleagues got in touch because he was really looking forward to it and he did his back in so he couldn’t come to the ceremony, but at least he’d had the cap and the gown beforehand so he’d actually taken some photographs for the family which was really nice, because you know he wouldn’t have had that normally.’

When both Sandy and Keith went to study for their Cert Ed’s, neither knew the other was going to be there.

Mrs Kinvig said it just proves what a small world it really is.

She said: ’Although we knew each other from when we were at school, and the Sixth Form and whatever, we didn’t know that we were going to the same college!

’On the first day we arrived I was going round the college, as you do to see what it’s like, and I was coming out of the chapel and Keith was going in, and I said "Oh Hi Keith" and [he said] "Hi Sandy" and we passed each other and then we did an about turn and said "What are you doing here!?"

’It was so funny, you meet in the street every day, and then you don’t realise that you’re going to the same college.’