I have recently completed my first degree with the Open University. I was finally provoked into returning to studying in 1990 when my daughter went to Newcastle University to take a BSc(Hons) in Speech. I felt that the "old man" couldn't be left behind!

I can honestly say that I've enjoyed almost every moment of the time I've spent working on OU courses over the last ten years 'specially the summer schools associated with many courses.

I started by taking the Science Foundation course with the intention of making chemistry my main subject in later years but immediately found one of the great benefits of study with the OU. At the end of the first year I was hooked on geology, a subject I'd not studied at school, and made this the main focus for the rest of my study. The modular nature of OU courses makes it particularly easy to change the focus of study at any time while building up th erequired credit for the final degree.

Over a period of ten years I took the following courses:

1990 S102 Science: A Foundation Course
1991 S236 Geology
1991 S256 Matter in the Universe
1992 S271 Discovering Physics
1993 S267 How the Earth Works: The Earth's Interior
1994 S339 Understanding the Continents
1995 S338 Sedimentary Processes and Basin Analysis
1996 S268 Physical Resources and Environment
1997 S269 Earth and Life
1998 S330 Oceanography
1999 S328 Ecology

I was lucky enough to do well in all my courses and graduated with a First on 14th April 2000

My graduation day

I would recommend anyone considering a return to part time study to visit the Open University web site and have a look at the wide range of courses on offer

Certificate of Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours from The Open University

I have also been awarded another first degree.

I am proud, as a graduate of The Unseen University of Ankh Morpork, to style myself BF (Unseen)

Certificate of Bachelor of Fluencing from The Unseen University