Great-grandmother Grace Ledger (96) is a remarkable woman by any standards, but the fact that she is also registered blind adds another element to her far-from-easy life.

Mrs Ledger, who has two sons – one a pharmacist in Belgium and the other a music master – three grandchildren and six great- grandchildren, is now in the second year of her degree.

Combining two years of study into one, she hopes to cram the four-year course in social sciences into three.

But the modest undergraduate lays most of her success at the door of those who she says have helped her realise her ambition to study so late in life, especially the Open University itself, who she says ‘should be praised to the hilt’.

“There’s so much help out there, all my lessons are on cassettes,” said Mrs Ledger who also has high praise for both 4Sight, the West Sussex Association for the Blind, and the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

And she describes Mike Drew, her local 4Sight contact officer, as ‘inspirational’.

Despite being able to use a computer, Mrs Ledger still prefers to write her essays in longhand with the help of a special high-intensity light, magnifying glasses and other blind aids. And she has excelled.

Mrs Ledger achieved top marks last year, gaining more than 80 per cent, and at the end of this year is set to receive a certificate of merit.

“It’s well worthwhile,” said Mrs Ledger, who also suffers from arthritis.

“I go to bed at 9pm and listen to my cassettes. It’s very good to have something to do and for anybody who has a lot of pain it helps.”

She is also an avid listener to the World Service, often tuning in during the early hours.

And she declares: “You must be occupied.

“Sometimes the pain of arthritis makes you down-hearted but there is wonderful support out there and your tutor is always on the end of the phone.”

And she offers helpful advice to anyone thinking of taking up Open University courses.

“You mustn’t be daunted. Try something that takes your mind off your aches and pains. There is so much kindness and you meet all sorts of people.”

Mrs Ledger, who enjoyed playing the piano in her younger days, went to a boarding school near her childhood home in Harrow and left school at the age of 17.

She turned down the chance of a place at Oxford and instead decided she wanted to start work, first training as a comptometer operator and later going on to teach English as a foreign language at a language school.

“It was most interesting; I got to know so many different people of the world, from Muslims to Buddhists.”

When she retired after 40 years, at the age of 60, Mrs Ledger returned there to work in the evenings, before applying for a job as a part-time school secretary.

The position, she said, ‘was a big challenge’ at a special unit for children who had been excluded from school.