A PENSIONER has picked up her GCSE maths result – 60 years after leaving school.
Marjorie Sherry has returned to the classroom at the age of 76 in a bid to keep herself busy post-retirement.
Having retired last year, Winsford resident Marjorie decided to enrol on a maths course at Warrington and Vale Royal College.
Now, she is urging others to do the same.
“Oh yes! I would encourage anybody to go there,” she said.
“I have a friend who is older than me who is doing a pottery course at the Winsford campus.
“I’m thinking about what I’m going to do next but I haven’t quite decided, it would be a shame not to use the excellent facilities we have in Winsford right on our doorstep.”
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Marjorie left school at 15, having not undertaken any external exams.
Since then she has worked in various clerical and administrative roles before deciding to retire in 2022 shortly before her 75th birthday.
“When I left work I was told I should do something to keep fit and meet other people”, Marjorie added.
“So I decided to use my brain!
“I didn’t start the course with the intention of doing my GCSEs, it was just to bring my maths skills up to date and it progressed from there.
“The tutor (Julie Hood) said she thought I could so I said ‘go on then, I’ll do it’.”
She added: “It was a lovely class and a lovely teacher, a nice mixture of people.
“Some of them were mothers with young children who were working full time, bringing up a family, and taking the course in order to further their employment prospects.”
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Having not sat an exam like it for many years, Marjorie admits the nerves did get to her.
“Oh yes I was nervous,” she said. “I haven’t been in such a formal exam situation for a long, long, time.
“We didn’t take external exams at school but I did take some after I left but that was still more than 50 years ago so obviously the system has changed completely
“I was very pleased with my results.”
Marjorie passed with an excellent grade and is now considering studying British Sign Language at the college.
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