Pembrokeshire College degree student, Allison Hatton has been awarded £1,500 by the West Wales Freemasons to help further her education as part of the annual Colin O’Dare Masonic Bursary.

After being made redundant at the age of 50, Allison enrolled on to the BA (Hons) Business Management course at Pembrokeshire College and has since started-up her own business selling used books on-line.

Provincial Grand Master of the West Wales Freemasons, Stephen Hookey congratulated Allison on her achievements, wishing her luck in completing her final year of study in September.

Allison was thrilled to receive the bursary and said: “The money will help fund the final year of my degree so I am absolutely delighted!”

Allison runs her business, ‘Ally’s Wholesale Books’ from a warehouse in Pembroke Dock. Sourcing second hand books, she retails the books on Amazon and is one of their top 20 book sellers.

“The whole process takes some time with cleaning stock, putting photos on-line, then dispatching, but I really enjoy it. We are now branching out and selling stationery too!”

Allison puts the success of her business down to her dedication along with the skills she has learnt on the Business Management degree course at college and said: “When I became redundant I knew that there weren’t many opportunities available for the over 50s, so I set out to make some for myself. I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the skills I’ve gained at college.”

‘Ally’s Wholesale Books’ most expensive sale to date was a book of lyrics by Thin Lizzy which sold for £600. The business currently employs an apprentice and a part-time driver with a vacancy for a second apprentice as the business expands. If you would like the opportunity to branch-out into something new, then check out the list of courses at pembs.ac.uk/courses. It’s never too late to learn.