`This is just the best decision we've ever made'

When Dubliner Trevor Bissett left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications, he embarked on a series of jobs that led nowhere. An uncle who had worked his way through the education system until he gained a master's degree persuaded him of the value of education.

Two years ago, Bissett enrolled on a VTOS Leaving Cert course at Pearse College, Clogher Road, Dublin. "I had seen my uncle succeed," the 22-year-old explains. "That encouraged me to come back." He has never regretted his decision for a moment. After the Leaving Cert he'd like go to third-level.

It's a sunny May morning and seven of us are sitting around a table in the principal's office in Pearse College. The group consists of men and women who, for a variety of reasons, have taken the big leap forward and returned to education. This year they're all doing the Junior Cert or the Leaving Cert.

Eileen Walsh (33) is here to improve her life and job opportunities, she says. Frances Kelly (25) is also taking the Leaving Cert to get a better job.

Austin Kavanagh is in the Army but is studying for his Junior Cert. Eventually, he says, he'd like to do psychology at third-level and go into counselling.

An Army colleague, Des Coffey, thirtysomething, did a bad Inter Cert as a teenager and he's hoping to improve on it this time round. "The minimum you need to get a job nowadays is a Leaving Cert," he says.

Grandfather Pat Comiskey (58) left school when he was 14 and retired from Guinness two years ago. His return to education was prompted by the fact that he felt ill-educated compared to his children and was keen to catch up. He now studies alongside his grandson.

Mature students will tell you that the best decision they ever made was to return to education. Most had bad experiences at school the first time around and opting to step over the threshold of an educational establishment for a second time is a huge step.

They're delighted when they find that adult education bears no relation to school. "It's completely different here," says Coffey. "You're treated like an adult. The teachers are brilliant and the students are marvellous."

However, in terms of the work you do you're largely on your own. "There's nobody here to tell you that you must do your homework," says Kelly. "You have to be self-motivated and get on with it yourself. Nothing is compulsory."

Adults bring an extra dimension to their studies. "We're older and wiser and we have the benefit of hindsight," says Walsh. "We put everything into our work."

But being a mature student can be a source of friction at home and is particularly difficult for people with children. And, of course, you can miss out on social life. "You feel guilty when you go out - but you learn to live with your guilt," says Walsh. Kelly admits: "It can be hard to come home and get down to more work. I've more or less given up the golf."

Some students, however, find that studying for the Leaving Cert enhances their social lives. "We go to plays as part of our English course," explains Bissett. "Before coming here I'd never been to the theatre. I've found I enjoy it and now I go with friends."

Students enjoy the camaraderie of the class. "You get to meet a lot of people here - there's a whole block of us who have become friends. It really adds to your social life," comments Walsh. Comiskey adds: "It's great craic - I'll miss it when it's over."

Mature students often report that friends and acquaintances take a negative view of their return to learning - often because of jealousy. But, for this group, the opposite is the case. "Everybody thinks you're great when you tell them you've gone back to do your Leaving Cert," says Kelly. "People are very positive."

Students and teachers all comment on the increased self-confidence people gain when they return as adults to education. "If I hadn't come back on this course I wouldn't have had the confidence to come and talk to you today," says Bissett. The group has seen extremely shy colleagues blossom in the two years they have been at Pearse College. "You get great encouragement from the staff," they say. "They look for extra material for you and encourage you to work."

Coffey says that a few weeks ago he knew nothing about Wolfe Tone . . . "but we've done some lectures and I've done some reading and now I know a lot more." Commiskey adds: "You can talk with authority on subjects that you knew nothing about two years ago."

For many students, the course for Junior Cert and Leaving Cert are voyages of self-discovery. "I've found that I love poetry," says Kavanagh. "I didn't think it possible - I'd heard of Seamus Heaney, of course, and knew he had won the Noble Prize, but I'd never read his poems. I was amazed at my reaction to them."

The six mature students around the table are all convinced that the forthcoming exams are only the beginning. "We have a hunger for knowledge," says Walsh. "None of us is going to stop. This is just a stepping stone."