A teen mum who took her son to prom has revealed she’s secured a place at college to study health and social care after finishing her GCSEs. Melissa McCabe, 16, became a mum to son Arthur in November 2020, after finding out she was 28 weeks pregnant at just 14.
Becoming a mum at such a young age, Melissa received lots of criticism and prejudice from older people, as well as those at school. However, the student, from Tranmere, Wirral has overcome a heap of obstacles, including childcare, the pandemic and full-time study, to come out the other side with passes in vocational subjects including animal care, business, and tourism.
Melissa said: “When I first realised I was pregnant, I was worried my only choice would be to drop out of school to care for Arthur. But after exploring my options, I decided to continue with education and I’m so happy I did.
“I’m really proud of myself for being able to make it through school and get to this point. There’s always going to be a little voice nagging in my head that I could’ve done better, but I’ve worked so hard to juggle school and look after Arthur.
“I once had a teacher tell me I was never going to make it, and that was before I had Arthur, so to prove them wrong has felt amazing! My favourite topics were English and business, and I felt I did really well in business as I got a pass.
“There were points where it was quite difficult trying to study and revise as well as being a mum, but I’ve had so much help from my brother Kyle, 30 and sister-in-law, Amy since Arthur was born. Even though my grades could have been better in some places, I can’t wait to start college in September, I’ve worked so hard to get there.”
Melissa’s determined to shake the stigma young and single parents like her face every day. She adds: “As a teen mum, there’s a lot of preconceived stereotypes which come along with the title.
“I’ve had adults make snide comments at me, like it’s their taxes paying for my son, and that I’m not fit to be a mum. Yet I’ve stayed in education in order to provide for my son and to make a life for the both of us, and I receive very little benefits.
“Once I start attending college to study health and social care, I plan on getting a part-time job to help me even more. People need to start minding their own business, and if they don’t have anything positive to say, they should keep it to themselves.
“I’m doing my best to be the best mum, and best person I can be.” Despite some of the backlash Melissa’s received, she’s had some very supportive friends and teachers throughout her journey.
She said: “My teachers have been super supportive and have aided me when I’ve fallen a bit behind in my studies. Kyle and Amy have kept on at me to keep studying and have always given a helping hand when I needed it.
“When school reopened during the pandemic, I got a few nasty comments from other pupils at first but I’ve also had a lot of friends stick with me and help me through it all. But the most support I’ve had is from people on TikTok.
“After I took Arthur to prom, my story kind of just blew up on there, and I’ve had people messaging me to say how gorgeous he looks and how great a mum I am. It’s been a wild journey, but I’m super excited to go to college and see what the future has in store for us.”
