Gran was delighted to see Jordan graduate as a qualified dentist after chaos of early years

BEAMING with pride, Janet Bain might be the happiest gran in Scotland.

Growing up in a chaotic home with a mother caught in the grip of a heroin addiction, Janet’s grandson Jordan’s prospects looked bleak.

But he was a bright boy and, from his earliest years, Janet promised to help him fulfil his undoubted potential.

One of her most treasured memories is of Jordan, clad in pint-sized gown and clutching his mortar board, graduating from nursery.

That day, she pledged to do everything she could to help him get the best possible education.

Now her dream has come true with the former Springburn Academy pupil, 23, graduating as a dentist from Glasgow University on Friday.

Janet, 67, a part-time carer, smiled: “I vowed from the moment I saw him graduate from nursery that he would go to university.

“He was an intelligent youngster, always asking questions and desperate to learn.”

Jordan grew up in Milton, Glasgow, an area which at the time was in the grip of a drugs culture.

“I was born into a home where drugs were my mum Caroline’s only concern,” he said.

“They were more important to her than I was.”

Backed by her partner, John, and Jordan’s aunt, Donna, Janet provided a sanctuary.

“Gran brought me up and I owe everything to her, aunt Donna and John,” said Jordan.

Jordan sailed through university and has already landed himself a good job in a dental practice in Bishopbriggs, a leafy suburb of his native Glasgow.

Caroline regrets how she lost Jordan because of her addiction.

“I am hugely proud of him and wish him all the best,” she said.

Jordan and other students from difficult backgrounds benefited from a mentoring scheme set up by Strathclyde University.

Retired doctor Hilary Murdoch, and her husband Robert, a retired statistician, from Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire, helped him achieve a clutch of top grades.

Alastair Wilson, senior lecturer with the intergenerational mentoring project, said: “We have supported more than 150 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.”