I’ve been struck by how much I’ve enjoyed and how challenging I’ve found my course so far. As mature students and adults, we like to think we are worldly-wise but we still have so much learning to do.

As a Mamma of a seven year old and a seventeen year old step-daughter (just taking her own steps into the world), I’m throwing off my labels too – mother, wife, smallholder, school volunteer – venturing out armed with my A4 pad shoved firmly under my arm and my lunchbox stashed in my rucksack. I think my children find it quite bizarre – my husband just peers over his glasses and smiles at me.

It’s terrifying – even more so than 18 years ago when I started my undergraduate degree as a naïve Lincolnshire Yellow-belly who knew nothing about the real world.

As children my identical twin and I had lead an idyllic childhood of exploring the countryside when we wanted. No streetlights, games consoles or dinner bells; we just knew when it was tea time and spent our days playing in woods or climbing trees.

We didn’t have much to do with our peers at school since our nearest neighbour was a good mile walk, and the closest thing to teenage civilisation we had any dealings with was the blessed Smash Hits magazine and the top 40 on a Sunday.

We taped the chart show like a spiritual ritual on an old Sanyo cassette recorder. We LOVED music – we still do. It’s music that found me finally sign up for my “second chance” at University – I was so busy learning about the real world first time round that I just didn’t feel I had done myself justice.

18 years later, it’s never too late to step up and tick that box.