IRIS Wait proved the old clich: "It's never too late to learn," by scooping the Senior Learner of the Year Award last year at the age of 68.

She travelled from her home in Beech Hill, north of Basingstoke, to learn IT skills at the Chineham Learning Centre, and now has City and Guilds Level 1 in Word, spreadsheets and databases.

She also has a City and Guilds CIP qualification in Desktop Publishing and the internet - and is studying for more qualifications.

Her motivation to start learning was to be able to e-mail her daughter in the United Arab Emirates, and as a parish councillor, is now also sending out group e-mails!

What makes her success even more spectacular is that Iris also suffers from dyslexia - something her nominator, Norma Barrett, at Chineham Learning Centre, let slip.

HERBERT Drewitt decided on a practical, rather than computer-based, skill - going back to school to make pottery.

At 78, the runner-up has a good 10 years on the category winner, but apart from the fun of achieving new skills, his reason for returning to learning was to get him away from the television and give him a chance to make new friends.

AGNES Stone is an inspiration to people who believe they are too old to learn.

At the grand age of 83, she found herself a runner-up in the Senior Learner category.