GCSE success for grandfather Ian, 77

Grandfather Ian Murphy has proved it’s never too late to learn, after sailing through his maths and English GCSEs at the age of 77!

Expelled from school at the age of 15, he decided to go back to study after witnessing his granddaughters’ success – and passed with two grade 5s.

It doesn’t stop there. Next he’s planning to move on to a Level 3 Certificate in Core Maths.

“My granddaughters were getting 9s all the way through so I decided to give it a go,” he said.

First he taught himself to remember Pi to an incredible 350 decimal places, then he enrolled on the GCSE courses with his daughter Keri.

“I was scared of getting dementia because of forgetting words and it’s definitely helped, I’ve seen a real improvement,” he continued.

Keri, who got a 4 and a 3 in English and maths, is now planning to do an access course so she can boost her prospects by studying business at university.

“Dad’s always been smart so we knew he’d do well,” she said.

Ian added a massive thank you to the tutors for all their support. “I didn’t realise just how much of a vocation it was and how dedicated they are to getting people through,” he said.

“They’re magic because they really give you the sense of wanting to learn – it’s awesome!”