“They often have a deeper commitment because many see this as a second chance,” says Hugh Bochel.Will you cope academically? You should do. Older students tend to go home at the end of the day to concentrate on home matters.Mature students are welcomed by teaching staff. “When I look around, I see groups of students of all ages talking together.” But the real difference – if you have a partner and particularly if you have children – will be the fact that you won’t share much of the younger students’ social life. “There is a very friendly atmosphere in the refectory,” says Hugh Bochel, Professor of Policy Studies at the University of Lincoln. You should find that you mix together well in lectures and tutorial groups – also in free time. Older students are often attracted to the smaller colleges too, where they are able to commute more easily.You might be in the minority at your institution or even on your course, but that is no reason why you should not fit in! Younger students are generally very welcoming and don’t categorise students into age groups. Most of the older universities average 13-14 per cent while the newer ones, especially those that traditionally have a high local recruitment (since at the end of the day if you have family commitments, it boils down to where you live) have the larger numbers – some as high as 48 per cent of full-time students.

Every institution has at least a few, although some have particularly high numbers. You will be just fine.
Are mature students concentrated in specific universities and colleges? Not really. Admittedly, the definition refers to anyone over 21 and includes part-time students, so the oldies haven’t yet taken over! But if you are no longer in the first flush of youth, will be enrolling in a few weeks’ time and are wondering how you will fit in with 18-year-olds, don’t worry. Mature students now make up more than half of the student population. I would have done once but now I keep my mouth shut.Interview by Jonathan Sale. This was the first time that Flossie, the youngest, had shown this kind of concern for us; she felt responsibility for us, instead of us feeling responsibility for her.How should parents prepare themselves for children going off to university? I wouldn’t presume to give anyone advice. Flossie had come with some friends and afterwards we were waiting for taxis She insisted that Sheila and I took the first taxi.

I’ve just got back from Sonar, a festival in Barcelona where on one night I was one of 10 DJs playing records. We hear from them most days – by phone; they don’t email because they wouldn’t be noticed among the 2,000 or 3,000 emails which I receive via the BBC.I can’t say if going to university has brought them closer to us or distanced them from us But I can say that we have recently reached a turning point. William lives in the North-east with his girlfriend and Alexandra lives in Ipswich with her partner. All four were always keen to come back for vacations and, as is always the case, you are then reminded of the things that irritate you about them; but you discover an extraordinary capacity for forgiveness, which I rather resent.They were always based at home; and now the two who have left home do live in the same country and do come home fairly frequently. For me, this resulted in a certain amount of staring gloomily at their abandoned bedrooms.