Retired sub-postmistress notches up her third degree

Posted on 15 April 2025 • Arts and social sciences, History, Student stories

At the age of 79 former sub-post mistress Pat Wetherell has proved that age is no bar to higher education since she recently donned graduation robes to collect her hard-earned MA in History from The Open University (OU).

It’s the second OU degree the mother-of-two from Eston, Middlesbrough, has notched up, and her third degree in total.

Things were very different when they studied in the Seventies

In the early 1970s, Pat and husband Ivan, who have been married 60 years this year, both studied for a degree while their children were little.

Then, Pat studied an Open Degree in Humanities and Understanding Society while Ivan studied Maths.

When the Wetherells studied in the Seventies things were very different. It was prior to today’s flexible learning offered by the OU, through the use of technology so students can access their learning resources from anywhere in the world at any time.

Pat says:

“When the children were in bed on an evening, my husband and I sat, one at each end of the table, with our books out. Those were the days. Both my husband and I felt that we had missed out educationally and we jumped at the chance of taking a degree and never regretted it.”

Pat said she started a career in lecturing: “I enjoyed it,” she said, and it meant she was free to be with her children in the school holidays.

Later, with the renewed confidence that her studies gave her, Pat said she decided to open her own business – a sub-post office and general store.

While working at the Post Office in the ex-mining community of Charltons, near Guisborough, she found she was intrigued by the mining history there:

“I became interested in the stories related by the ex-miners and their wives, which led to my interest in local history. I collected memorabilia and taped interviews.”

Another degree followed for Pat. This time she studied History, at a brick university. Years later, when her son Gary and great niece Danielle achieved Masters qualifications, it ignited her passion for learning once more – that’s when she decided to study for a Masters of her own, again in History.

Pat celebrated with Ivan and other members of her family at a graduation ceremony in Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall recently.

She added:

“I’m still raring to go and hope to begin a PhD shortly. Not anything particularly outstanding about that but I will be 80 years old in September. I might call it a day after that if I can.”

Main picture: Pat and Ivan at the OU’s Manchester degree ceremony