Never too late to study, says 72-year-old student

A 72-year-old man who is studying a degree at university says it is "never too late" to study.

Second-year student Tony Miller, who is studying a history with creative writing degree at the University of Plymouth, said he was "loving the experience".

Mr Miller said he left a "horrible" school environment in his early teens with no qualifications and worked at the dockyard in Portsmouth for 14 years, followed by 12 years in Plymouth.

Mr Miller said: "I've got a good 40 years on the next youngest in the history cohort, but I'm loving every second."

He said he did not know what to do next after his wife died.

"If there's such a thing as a soul mate, my wife was mine.

"When I lost her in 2017 it left me looking for a new path and Covid coming along in 2020 helped nothing," he said.

"Throughout my time in Portsmouth and later on when we moved to Plymouth, I've always loved history so I joined [charity] Plymouth Time Bank.

"I enjoyed intelligent conversation with people... and wanted to do more, so someone suggested an Access Course."

At the age of 69, Mr Miller sat his first GCSE and embarked on an access to humanities course at City College Plymouth.

He then started a history degree – alongside developing his creative writing.

The university said he had "thrown himself into student life" and volunteered at The Box and had joined the Mature Students' network and History Society of the Students' Union.

He has also put himself forward as a student ambassador to meet and greet prospective students and their families.

He added: "It's great to tell my story and if it can help someone else see that it's never too late to pursue your passion, then fantastic."

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