Woman, 58, beats 'maths fear' to enter university

A woman who overcame her "fear of maths" to get accepted into university in her 50s says age gave her the confidence to take up lessons.

Angela, from Somerset, applied for university aged 57, but was told she needed a GCSE level qualification to get accepted.

"I did an online test and my maths skills came out at 0.001% chance of being able to pass. It was awful," she said.

Now, after three months of classes, she has passed the exam and been offered places in two universities.

Angela, who is now 58, said despite her twin brother being "brilliant at maths" at school, she had a "fear" of it and was "useless".

"So he got a lot of credit and a lot of praise and I just learned to avoid it," she told BBC Radio Somerset.

This continued into her adult life, including her time in the fire service.

Angela said: "We would play darts at lunchtime, and I couldn't do it. And do you know why? Because I couldn't add the scores up."

After Angela's children left home and went to university themselves, she signed up for a tutor through Somerset Skills and Learning and was matched with Leigh McLachlan.

Angela said: "She made it fun, she never belittled us. No question was a stupid question."

Angela, along with another student, had two lessons a week for three months and they both passed their exam.

"Maths isn't all that scary and you do it every day without even realising it," said Leigh McLachlan.

The tutor explained that often an event that happens within school can create "maths anxiety".

She added: "There's one right answer in maths, but there's a million ways to get there and it's my job to find out how you think."

Angela believes her age gave her the confidence to try the subject again.

She said: "You think anyone can do anything if they set their mind to it, but you need to be in the right place and the right space and with the right people."

She now helps her friend's son with his maths.

"He just loves it and I love the fact that when he sees me he thinks of maths," said Angela.

She has now had offers from two universities and is planning to study Criminology and Psychology at Plymouth University.

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