 She left school with few qualifications, a fact attributed to undiagnosed dyslexia, but was accepted as a mature student at Queen's University, Belfast.She graduated in 1995 with First Class honours in Women's Studies and went on to get a master's degree in Science and Technology Policy from the Science and Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex.Kingston has worked on social justice issues all her life, in particular relating to international development and human rights.