TED Vincent nearly ended up in the workhouse, then left school at 14 with no qualifications.
But the evergreen Poole man has studied art and novels to get an Open University Humanities degree at the ripe old age of 81.
"It was a great experience, it changed my life," said Ted, from Broadstone.
He studied drama, the renaissance (and found a favourite painter, Diego Velasquez), and authors like Jane Austen, Balzac and Dickens.
He'd never even read a novel before the seven-year course - now War and Peace' writer Tolstoy is his favourite.
"He goes into such detail - you know the characters inside out. I thought novels were a load of rubbish, now I think the absolute opposite."
He studied through a triple heart bypass, kidney operation, and spinal arthritis. He was the oldest student in his group and the only one with no qualifications.
Ted's family were Roman Catholics growing up in Belfast in the days when Protestants kept many of the best jobs.
He was the eldest of 15 siblings in a two-up two-down, and only got his first pair of shoes when he was 13.
Despite his drive to learn he had to sail to find work in England at 14.
He studied the Protestant reformation in his degree. "As a Catholic I wanted to see both sides."
Wife of 58 years Jennie said he is now more thoughtful - he analyses the news and has switched from The Daily Telegraph to The Guardian.
One of Ted's tutors was Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Annette Brooke, a former economics and social sciences lecturer.
One of his four children, David, 55, a self-employed floor layer from Creekmoor, has been inspired by his efforts to study archaeology at Bournemouth University.
Ted, a former bomb disposal officer and storekeeper for British Aerospace, now wants to do an access course in computers.
He urged people: "If you worry you're too old, you'll never do anything!"
