92-year-old reveals his maths GCSE result in BBC interview

GCSE results day is a time of stress and anxiety for teenagers waiting to find out what options are open to them next.

But for 92-year-old Derek Skipper who took a maths GCSE, it was more about refreshing old knowledge.

Skipper from Cambridgeshire, who last took a maths exam in 1946, passed his exam with a grade five, the highest mark available on the foundation course he studied over Zoom.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on the day of his result, he said: "I am very pleased indeed."

When he last took a maths exam, he said he "just went through the motions... and didn't really understand much about it".

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"Here was an opportunity that came through the door to do a Zoom meeting - doing the test again - and seemed to me to be an ideal opportunity.

"Maths is a wonderful thing and it is very easy to say you are no good at it... any opportunity to learn and embrace it, great."

Asked why he took the exam, he said: "I think the answer is why not?"

In the exam, he used a calculator and a magnifying glass to help with his poor eyesight.

He said he "wouldn't have been surprised if I failed because I could not see it very well, but with a magnifying glass it worked out well".

Sitting the actual exam was not stressful, he said.

"It didn't matter two hoots whether I passed or failed, I was doing it for a bit of fun for myself."

Asked if he planned to sit any more exams, Mr Skipper said: "No, I think that is probably my lot, I think I shall go out on a high."

The Cam Academy Trust, which runs Comberton Village College where he sat his exam, said Skipper was the "oldest person to sit a GCSE".

Fair play.

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