From Polmont to medical school: Steven Beattie’s plan to change direction

Steven Beattie, who spent his teenage years in and out of a young offenders’ institution, is due to graduate from the University of Dundee’s medical school in June. He says a plan to leave Glasgow, stop drinking and distance himself from people getting into trouble helped him change direction.

Beattie, 37, was first sent to Polmont at 16 after crashing a stolen car while drunk. He returned repeatedly over the next four years as his involvement with gangs and violence grew, he told BBC News.

He describes a punishment after a fight — being confined for 23 hours a day and having his television taken away — as a moment that made him think about his future. “I wrote out a plan and I stuck to it,” he said.

Growing up in Hillington, in south-west Glasgow, Beattie cared for both parents. His father had Parkinson’s disease; his mother had paranoid schizophrenia and cancer, from which she later died. He left school at 15 and said he often missed classes after staying up late to care for them.

After leaving Polmont, Beattie started a personal training business, saying he thought employers would find it hard to trust him. He saved enough to move away from Glasgow, then took an access course at Glasgow Kelvin College before studying physiology at the University of Glasgow. That helped him gain entry to medical school.

Beattie says he was inspired by his father’s neurologist, who had noticed his understanding of Parkinson’s. He hopes to specialise in surgery, neurology or emergency medicine. He is also an award-winning mixed martial arts fighter, known as “Doctor Beatdown”.

The BBC report comes as Polmont faces renewed scrutiny after a riot involving about 30 inmates. Scottish Prison Service chief executive Linda Pollock described the disturbance as an example of “bubbling tension” linked to rising overcrowding. Beattie said overcrowding could leave staff with less capacity to support individual prisoners and help with rehabilitation.