Ref. 29339-23JOHN Bartlett started his degree when his youngest daughter Alyson was a toddler. But the 55-year-old has taken so long to complete his studies that he'll graduate just a month before she does.

It's taken the father-of-three 23 years to complete a BSc in geology and earth sciences from the Open University.

John left school at 16 and joined the Post Office as an apprentice, working his way up to the position of software engineer at Dorcan.

He said: "Today, people are expected to do A Levels. But when I was at school, only the elite few from the grammar schools went on to university.

"I was always interested in geology so I decided to do a course in the subject."

John took a break from his studies between 1983 and 1996 and then opted for early retirement two years ago, giving him more time to concentrate on his studies .

"It can be quite demanding but the beauty of the Open University is that you can do the courses when they suit you. That's why it is accessible to everyone," he said. "But I always intended to finish the degree, it was never an option not to."

Daughter Alyson, 25, completes her medical studies at Sheffield this year and graduates in July while her father's graduation ceremony takes place in June at London's Royal Festival Hall.

John's 90-year-old mother, Margaret, will attend the event.

"I was keen to complete the degree while she could still attend the graduation ceremony," he said.

John and his wife Brenda, 54, who live in High Street, Wootton Bassett, have two other children Anthony, 29, who is a pharmacist and Carolyn, 27, who is a psychiatric nurse.

But despitre the length of time it took him to achieve his degree John has not lost his taste for studying he's now planning to start another course to keep him busy.

"Having studied over such a long period of time, I'll probably get withdrawal symptoms," he said. "There's such a plethora of courses that I am sure there's something else that will interest me."

The Open University started in 1971, and several people who enrolled at the beginning graduated last year, making the record for the longest time complete a degree 32 years.

Open University spokesman Neil Coaten said: "Mr Bartlett is one of a small group of people to have taken more than 20 years.

"One of the main points of the courses is that if you take a break you do not lose any credits already earned."

Bhavani Vadde