It's never too late.

Never too late - I would echo that sentiment. Two of my mother's sisters graduated from university in their fifties, having left school at fourteen due to their family being too poor to consider allowing them to stay at school. My own DH is this week beginning his life as an undergraduate studying for a degree in philosophy. He is 64 years old and will not retire from work until next summer so this first year will be extra demanding.

I graduated in my mid-forties. I left school at seventeen because basically I'd had enough of education at that point in my life.

Although it wasn't possible to go for further education - I had to work in all sorts of jobs to bring money in when the children were small and there was no-one to help with childcare - I did progress through my career gaining vocational qualifications. The qualifications I gained then led to my bringing others up to a standard of vocational qualifications, too. This was all in the (Health and Social) care field. I felt really quite satisfied with the way my life did go.
One evening we were sitting having a glass or two (!) with my brother-in-law and his wife, who had done really well in gaining her degree through the OU. My lovely DH had said ,"Well, A (me) is well-educated, too, y'know!" My sister-in-law sniffed and said "intelligent, yes - well-educated, no....." oh well, you can't win 'em all, eh!

My husband has no formal qualifications but he's far cleverer than I am. I just had the opportunities.

I was furious when somebody remarked that my daughter had 'only' an OU degree. It is very hard to study alone, especially when you have six children, but she was determined. I know intelligence is not defined by your educational standard - I don't think I was any more intelligent after my degree, but I was certainly better informed and more confident.

Education is wasted on the young! I am sure I would have made more of my university education if I'd gone out into the world and lived a bit first. My most rewarding teaching was with mature students, most of whom blossomed and went on to higher education. They were all so much more appreciative than the kids I had the misfortune to teach in a mediocre school in rural Norfolk. Most pleasing was the fact that they had life experience to bring to bear on the literature we studied and often brought me insights that I hadn't thought of. I hope some of them remember our classes with as much pleasure as I do!

Yes, the OU has been a boon for many of us. My dad didn't believe in educating girls beyond the usual school leaving age, so I didn't bother with school, frequently truanted and took one GCE O level in English, which didn't need any revising. In my thirties, I started my OU degree and loved every minute of it. It gave me a great career. It's surprising how many qualifications you can accumulate once you start.

My retired teacher friend does two OU courses a year and is currently studying genetics. She's sixty five and never did a degree, but as this thread says, she decided it's never too late.

There's so much more to learn. Well done those people who are starting degrees late on in life. There's lots of others who are retired and studying for degrees. Fantastic!

baubles, that's brilliant. Like you say, it's going to be a hard slog for the first year, but then he'll be able to really apply himself just to his studies.
I know what you mean, vampirequeen. My DH also has no formal qualifications but reads avidly and has a really good understanding of politics - something which I've never been able to get a handle on, really.