Bury College helped kickstart a celebrated author’s career

A former Bury College A-level student is now a celebrated author and believes his time here played a big part in this journey.

Matt Cain was a student from 1991 to 1993 and studied for A-levels in French, Spanish, Religious Studies and General Studies. 

Since leaving the College, Matt has been Channel 4’s first Culture Editor and has written for many of the major newspapers. As a passionate advocate of LGBT rights, he is an ambassador for Manchester Pride and the Albert Kennedy Trust. Matt is also a patron of LGBT+ History Month.

His writing career has seen him release several books, including ‘The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle’ in 2021 and Becoming Ted in January 2023. He has also written his own musical, Drag Addict, that will open at HOME Manchester in July 2023.

You can find out more about his career so far by clicking here: https://www.mattcainwriter.com/

When talking about his time at Bury College, Matt said: “People often talk about university opening doors for people and broadening their horizons but that started for me at Bury College. I found that students were treated with respect and there was a wonderfully tolerant, accepting culture. I had some inspirational teachers who gave up their time to give me extra coaching to prepare for my interview at Cambridge University. Thanks to them, I was offered a place and that changed my life forever.”

Matt also had some great words of advice for any students thinking about following his career path: “Don't stop believing in yourself and keep battling to achieve your dream, however much you hear the word no - although listen to any criticism you might get in case there's anything you can learn from it.”

If you’re a former student and want to share your success and progress with us, please email marketing@burycollege.ac.uk. Someone will get in touch so we can celebrate your success.