Meet the 72-year-old History student who says it쫄챰뻣펄셲 never too late to study

Tony Miller says coming to University was one of the best decisions he쫄챰뻣펄셲 made

History student Tony Miller in the Library

Meet the 72-year-old History student who says it쫄챰뻣펄셲 never too late to study

Tony Miller says coming to University was one of the best decisions he쫄챰뻣펄셲 made

1 January 2025

New Year쫄챰뻣펄셲 resolutions aren쫄챰뻣펄셳 always easy to keep 쫄챰뻣펄� but if yours is to go back into education, Tony Miller proves it쫄챰뻣펄셲 never too late to do it.

The 72-year-old is in his second year of a History with Creative Writing degree at the 쫄챰뻣펄, and loving the experience.

Having left a 쫄챰뻣펄쁥orrible쫄챰뻣펄� school environment in his early teens with no qualifications, he went to work at the dockyard in his native Portsmouth for 14 years, followed by 12 in 쫄챰뻣펄. He followed this with building railway signal systems, but he always maintained a love of reading, especially around History and heritage.

Tony had a family with his late wife and lived happily for 47 years, and upon losing her he didn쫄챰뻣펄셳 know what to do next. But the arrival of the Covid pandemic catalysed his move towards pursuing a passion 쫄챰뻣펄� and the rest, as they say, is History.

History student Tony Miller with late wife, Lyn, just before she passed away in 2017

Tony's last photo with late wife, Lyn, before she passed away in 2017

Tony and Lyn Miller on their wedding day

If there쫄챰뻣펄셲 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.

Throughout my time in Portsmouth and later on when we moved to 쫄챰뻣펄, I쫄챰뻣펄셶e always loved History so I joined 쫄챰뻣펄 Time Bank. I enjoyed intelligent conversation with people, which I쫄챰뻣펄셝 really missed, and wanted to do more, so someone suggested an Access Course.

Tony took his first GCSE aged 69 with On Course South West before embarking on an Access to Humanities course at City College 쫄챰뻣펄, where he went on to win Access Student of the Year ().

From there, he felt a History degree 쫄챰뻣펄� alongside developing his creative writing 쫄챰뻣펄� seemed like the next logical step.

I went to an Open Day at the 쫄챰뻣펄 and was absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm of everybody who spoke.

Honestly, the lecturers쫄챰뻣펄� passion for their subjects is so infectious, and I knew it was the right place for me.

By coincidence, my son studied Business here and my grandson is also doing a Psychology degree, so it runs in the family! We쫄챰뻣펄셶e all had great experiences, and I know I쫄챰뻣펄셶e got plenty more to come.

As well as averaging good marks on his assignments so far, Tony has thrown himself into student life. He volunteers at The Box, has joined the Mature Students쫄챰뻣펄� network and History Society of the Students쫄챰뻣펄� Union, and even put himself forward as a Student Ambassador to meet and greet prospective students and their families.

I쫄챰뻣펄셶e got a good 40 years on the next youngest in the History cohort, but I쫄챰뻣펄셫 loving every second. It쫄챰뻣펄셲 great to tell my story and if it can help someone else see that it쫄챰뻣펄셲 never too late to pursue your passion, then fantastic.

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