 While at school , Gibbons formed an ambition to be a writer , and on leaving in 1921 began a two @-@ year Diploma in Journalism at University College , London ( UCL ) . The course had been established for ex @-@ servicemen returning from the First World War , but attracted several women , among them the future novelist Elizabeth Bowen . As well as English Literature , the curriculum covered economics , politics , history , science and languages ; practical skills such as shorthand and typing were not included . 
